Insanity
by Cahaya Sidur
Summary: Manny, patient D82, transfers to Half Peak Asylum for the Mentally Disturbed. He is NOT mentally disturbed, as far as he's concerned. But as for those around him? He's not entirely sure anymore.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age.

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**AN: This is something I'm trying out, probably won't be good. Another human AU, as I find it easier to do so, and the fic this story is loosely based on has human characters...so...bear with me if you're reading this. (In case you're wondering, the fic is _Inertia Creeps.)_**

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_Rattle his bones,_

_Over the stones._

_It's only a pauper_

_Who nobody owns._

* * *

Prologue:

Hazel green eyes flecked with gold blinked lazily up at the ceiling, nimble fingers deftly and effortlessly shuffling a deck of cards while their owner leaned back and sighed, bored out of his mind. The hazel green eyes fell to the another one, possessing green eyes that shared the intensity with the previous pair, and let a sigh escape his lips, the deck shuffling not stopping. "What're we going to do today?"

The other smirked, letting a coin roll about his knuckles from where he was leaning against the wall, on the opposite side of the room from the first. "Lots of things, Di. You know that."

The one called 'Di' scowled at him. "Hilarious."

Silence took over them, but both green eyes continued to scrutiny each other. A crash signalled the arrival of a third, small hyperactive boy, long locks falling into his acidic green eyes. Wide maniac grin on his mouth, he certainly belonged in the _Half-Peak Asylum for the Mentally Disturbed_. The boy charged in, coming to a stop next to the second boy.

"Soto, two newbies are coming."

'Soto' perked up at this, the coin stopping on it's course across his knuckles and clattering to the floor. "Really?" a smirk found it's way onto his face. "Our humble establishment?"

The third one laughed maniacally, before nodding, rattling off dates as to when they were to come.

Soto stretched and stood up from where he had been slouched against the wall, and looked at 'Di'. "Time to give the newbies a welcome. Looks like the orientation's gonna happen next week _and_ the week after."

'Di' looked up, scowling. He hated the orientation. Due to his…'mental disabilities', he was forced to be blindfolded and led outside, even though he _already_ knew the way out into the other rooms, unlike the other boys, who could barely remember the way from the bathroom to their own bedrooms. A sigh as he continued shuffling the deck, slumping down even further down the wall.

Why him, out of all people?

And, as 'Di' looked and noticed the other four remaining boys talking together in excited whispers, he rolled his eyes, standing up to join them.

Because they were the only survivors of '96.

_And_, a little voice cooed at the back of the head, _because you don't know who will be the next to go down. _


	2. Part I: Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age.

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**AN: Just so you know, second and third chapter will be a bit rushed...**

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Chapter 1:

Manfred Peterson looked up at the gloomy atmosphere, and looked down at the slip again. _Half-Peak Asylum for the Mentally Disturbed_. He frowned. That was it. Dammit. He had hoped that it would either look nicer, or that it would be abandoned so he could return to the city. Who the hell built an asylum all the way out here, in the middle of nowhere?!

He stepped inside, seeing a tall man with dark hair and darker clothes. His eyes were narrowed, and reminded Manfred of a predator - waiting for you to make a mistake, and then strike. But he wasn't so easily fooled, and stared back at the man.

_Back away, and you'll become the prey._

All Manny's life, he had the ability to see through the fakes that people put up. He knew when he was being fooled. With the man…he knew that he was in trouble, but not of what sort. Five boys were led into the room, as if on cue, one of them blindfolded.

The man smiled, though it seemed completely fake. "Manfred Peterson. This is Soto Withall, Zeke Roster, Oscar Brandon, Leonard Avery and Diego Azorr."

Diego Azorr was the one with the blindfold, it seemed, which was now being removed. Bright green inquisitive eyes flecked with gold landed on him, and he felt uncomfortable under the scrutiny, yet refused to stand down. Soto grinned dangerously, his eyes glinting with malice. "Nice to meet you, _Manfred_."

Manfred squirmed under the attention, yet scowled at the boy. The others seemed eagerly sinister. But Azorr…he seemed…different. His bored brief look at Manfred seemed unimpressed, and he didn't bother hiding it. Azorr crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, position already screaming _BORED_! Manfred narrowed his eyes at the scrawny lithe boy.

He had a feeling he wouldn't hate anyone else as much as he hated Azorr.

* * *

Manfred was sadly wrong. The next week, another patient came. 'Orientation', as the others called it, was introduced to the other patient and Manfred at the same time. The other patient, Sidney Weiver, was downright _annoying_. Due to him being petrified of the other five, the boy had practically glued himself to Manfred, insisting on calling him 'Manny'.

And Man_fred_ thinks that he will strangle Sid to death by the end of the day.

* * *

It's hard to find your way around a mental asylum. The corridors all look the same, and so do the doors. Hell, it takes him 10 minutes just to find the _bathroom_. Which is _really_ annoying when Sid is chatting your ear off. According to the news he heard from Sid, only Azorr knew the way around - Manny's willing to bet 10 bucks that the kid has some kind of map around here somewhere - how else was he to know where everything it?!

The staff were completely useless and as mad as the patient themselves - in fact, Manny sometimes wondered if the _patients_ should be the staff and the _staff_ the patients.

Too bad.

On the first day, Azorr had approached him, and said the exact same thing that he told Sid a week later: "Do not go down to the basement unless it's an emergency. Do not use the lift unless you can help it. Never eat too fast or scrape your plate clean. And don't reveal anything personal to _anyone_."

Well, that was pretty easy for Manny.

Not so much for Sid, who kept trying to shut himself up whenever he realised he revealed too much, only to realise that there was no chance of going back. According to Sid, he had been sent there due to suffering from development dyspraxia, which meant that he couldn't button up his shirt, tie his laces, and had a hard time learning. After much time, Manny learnt almost everything about Sid - where he came from, the troubles he faced in school, his parents hating on him - before they finally sent him to a mental asylum, which burned down, so he was moved to this asylum.

Manny honestly couldn't give a damn and why the hell wouldn't the kid _shut up_?

He sighed, entering the room, meeting the bored emerald-gold gaze, who took one look at him and turned away, a sigh escaping his lips as Diego's fingers aimlessly shuffled the deck.

If there was one thing that Manny had learnt about Diego in the two months that he had been there so far, Diego was a deadly opponent in any card game, and could flick the cards to strike anyone as hard as anything.

Turning away, Manny headed to his room.

* * *

Diego rolled his eyes as he entered the room covered with shadows. You'd think that by now the staff would have learnt that trying to cover up a password that he had seen only briefly would not have worked. A predatory luminescent gaze peered at him from the bed, and Diego walked to it, still shuffling the deck of cards, gaze still bored.

"What'd you want?" Diego frowned, eyebrow raised.

Soto grinned at Diego, white teeth gleaming in the darkness. "You heard about the baby?"

Diego rolled his eyes once more. "What do you take me for, an idiot?"

The news had been around the whole time. That a baby had escaped from the lower levels of the asylum thanks to his mother (who was dead) and was currently wandering around the asylum. How the staff hadn't caught him yet, Diego would never know. But the asylum was huge, and, to be honest, even a map would be useless considering the endless maze of corridors.

"Spit it out, Soto."

Soto's grin widened. "I want that baby, Diego."

Diego frowned, one eyebrow arched as he stopped shuffling his cards. "You want a baby?"

Soto sighed theatrically. "Yes. They say the baby got out somehow, and has an immunity to the 'disease' that all those down there have." Diego suppressed a shiver at the thought of that. "I want to see if it's true."

Diego looked at Soto, unimpressed. "You want me to locate a baby and bring him to you?"

Soto's lips curled into a smirk.

"Fine." Diego rolled his eyes. "But I won't be responsible if the baby is found in your possession."

"Oh, don't worry." Soto grinned. "Once you bring him to me, you're free to go."

"What about the other two ignorant patients?" Diego asked, eyebrow raised. "With their luck, they'll find out about it and try to stop me."

Soto smirked. "They wouldn't. And if they do, we'll get rid of them. Permanently."


	3. Part I: Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age.

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**AN: And this is the next chapter, the one that I said was rushed...sorry! I'm not good with building relationships...hope you enjoy!**

**Big thanks to IceAge Mutant and IceDynamiteDragonflyStars for reviewing!**

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Chapter 2:

Manny awoke suddenly, brown eyes adjusting to the dark as he looked around. He jumped as he noticed a pair of dark eyes staring right back at him. "Sid?!" he hissed, wondering how the heck the boy managed to get into the room, considering that there were passwords on every door. "What the _hell_ are you doing here, and how the _heck_ did you get in here?"

Sid grinned sheepishly. "The door was open."

Manny's mind took a moment to process that. "…_What_?"

The younger boy shrugged, pushing greasy hair our of his eyes, before his expression turned serious once again. "I heard something outside."

Scowling, Manny turned back around. "Sid, I'm tired, and it's the middle of the night. So _Go. Back. To. Sleep…NOW._"

Sid shifted nervously. "But I think it was a baby. Remember that thing that the staff were all wondering about?"

Manny frowned, sitting up. "Wait. What would a baby be doing here?"

Sid also seemed surprised at this. "You don't know? A baby escaped from the lower levels. How I don't know, but we have to help him!"

Another groan. "Sid, have you ever thought that the baby was down there for a reason?"

Apparently, Sid couldn't take a hint. "No. And we have to help him."

"Wait a minute. Why do we _have_ to help it? And there's no 'us' in this." Manny turned over. "And it could be a girl."

Sid pouted. "But we need to help them, whatever their gender is. What if it was _you_ in their position?"

Manny swallowed thickly as he remembered the flames from his old home…getting separated from his parents with his younger brother, who was wailing and crying and _he needed to help get his baby brother out before_-

"Manny?" Sid piped up.

Manny turned, glare fierce. "Fine. But if we get caught, I will _kill_ you."

* * *

A torchlight shone down the dark corridor. How the user got it, his companion will never know.

"Baby?" Sid called out quietly in the dark hallway, Manny following sleepily. He honestly to god hoped that the baby had went and died or something, so that Sid would not have to go on the stupid quest thing that he was so insistent Manny follow him on. "Baby? Sid and Manny are looking for you."

Manny rolled his eyes, cursing his luck and whatever god was laughing at his luck up there.

They were currently on the third floor of the 12-story-high asylum, and Manny had no intention of going all the way up. They had climbed the stairs up, and Sid had suggested trying to use the lift, but Manny adamantly refused to. Azorr may have been crazy, but there had been a brutal honesty and warning in his gaze when he had approached them and warned them against using the lift.

Not to mention that they might crash into a staff member, and that was the last thing they wanted.

A coo came from one of the rooms, and Sid brightened up while Manny rolled his eyes once more, cursing his luck again.

"Baby?!"

The baby crawled out, dark hair on his head and expression innocent. Around the age of 3, the baby was dressed in rags and was still crawling, not at all bothered by the two asylum patients dressed in their light blue clothes looming over him.

Sid looked at Manny. "What do we do now?"

Manny spluttered. "I thought you planned this all out!"

"I did!" Sid protested. "I…just didn't get this far yet."

"Well well well." a voice interrupted from the other end of the corridor. Sid froze, and Manny did as well at first before he realised who the voice belonged to.

"Azorr?"

A laugh. "Turns out like you're not as stupid as you appear, Peterson." he drawled, green-golden eyes gleaming dangerously in the dark as he walked closer to the two. The shuffling of cards was heard. Diego took his own time to walk to them as if he owned the place. He looked at the two, gaze going down to the baby. As if sensing his thoughts, Sid snatched up the baby before Diego managed to reach five feet within of them.

"What are you doing here?" Sid stuttered, nervous despite his defiant actions.

Diego smirked. "I've been doing this thing almost every night. Better question should be: what are both of you doing here with a baby?"

Manny scowled. "None of your business."

"I'm hurt." the mocking smile didn't leave his surprisingly tanned face.

"Sure you are."

Diego tilted his head. "What are you intending to do with that?" he nodded towards the baby, who backed away, eyes wide and filling with tears at the sight of the veteran asylum patient.

"None of your business." Manny repeated.

"I'd send it to an orphanage." Diego continued as if Manny didn't even speak.

Sid brightened up and fell for it. "What orphanage?"

There was no other time that Manny wanted to smack Sid as much as he did now. They were up, in the middle of the night, wandering around an asylum where the patients were crazy and the staff members crazier. One of the creepiest sociopaths slash psychopaths Manny had ever met was standing in front of him, wanting the baby for reasons that Manny didn't think he would understand.

Diego smirked. "There's an orphanage not too far from here, about four miles? Should be able to drop the baby there, quite safe."

"And how do you propose we get out of here?" Manny challenged. "There are passwords everywhere, and the doors are all locked up tight, with only the staff members in charge of the cards. It's impossible to get out of here."

A roll of the eyes. "You should know, Peterson, that there's nothing such as 'impossible'. Up in the attic, there's a tree branch connecting to it. The other branch connects to a tree conveniently right over the gate. Slide down the tree, you're free to go."

Manny scowled. "Then why aren't you getting out?"

Diego snorted. "I tried. I failed." his tone was bitter. "Besides, they'll notice you're gone. Only chance you have is to drop the baby down and get back before morning checkup."

"Won't the staff notice?" Manny questioned.

A shrug. "Not my business."

Manny scowled at the tone, and turned to leave. "I think we'll be going now."

Sid turned to leave, eager to return to his room as well, but looked down at the baby in his arms. Gulping nervously, he scurried after Manny, before halting abruptly. "Manny, where were the stairs again?"

Manny stopped as well, looking around. He snatched the torchlight away from Sid, looking around once more. He had completely forgotten the way back. Being half-asleep while he carelessly followed Sid, he forgot that he had to keep track of where they were going. Manny scowled at Diego's smirking face.

"Fine."

* * *

Soto walked up the stairs, closely followed by the other three behind him. He walked over to the third floor bathroom and found a card, carefully folded up. Shining his torchlight on it, he read the note and the intricately small map traced on it before grinning victoriously and beckoning to the others to hurry up. He headed to the other stairs.

Thanks to the map, they would reach the room before the other three.

* * *

Manny frowned at Diego. The boy was leading them with a quiet confidence that none of the other patients possessed - they were either overly confident or just plain crazy. He didn't seem to be too concerned with getting caught even as Manny and Sid looked around, completely paranoid. The baby was sleeping now in Sid's arms.

Thank god.

After this night, Manny just wanted to go back to sleep and never wake up.

"Uh…how long more?" Sid asked.

Diego rolled his eyes. "Depends."

"You _do_ know where we're going, right?"

"Do you think I would lead you to a dead end?"

Manny snorted.

"Lovely to know." Diego grinned predatorily.

Silence overwhelmed them as they headed forward, Sid tripping over things occasionally. Eventually, Sid had enough, stopping and asking for a break. Manny, seeing Diego about to snap out some witty remark, interrupted with "10 minutes."

* * *

Diego led them on once more, while Manny frowned. There was a question itching in his head that he couldn't stop thinking about. Finally, he decided to hell with it all and ask. "How did you find us?"

There was no answer, and Manny was about to ask the question once more in case Diego didn't hear it.

But the answer came. "I can find anyone in this place."

Manny frowned. "How?"

But that was the end of it. Diego merely silently led them up another flight of stairs. If Manny wasn't wrong, by now, they were on the…tenth floor? Two more floors to go. Manny exchanged a look with Sid, who was still holding the baby. Diego seemed out of it. He wasn't focused, and was clearly thinking about something.

"Azorr?" No reply. Manny sighed, and did the one thing he never thought he would do. "Diego?"

Diego turned, eyebrow arched. No expression was visible on his face. "What?" he snapped.

Manny opened his mouth to ask a question, before Diego shook his head. "Later."

Another question wanted to burst forth from Manny's mouth, but Diego merely shook his head again and pointed at the stairs. If they could even be called stairs. They were merely pieces of rotting wood stuck to the building leading up. A banister of some kind was attacked to the wall, but that was it. Manny swallowed. He didn't do too good with heights, but Sid was already prancing along.

Diego rolled his eyes, and gestured for Manny to go first. Manny hesitated - he didn't want to have Diego suddenly push him off while halfway up the stairs.

Walking up slowly, Manny kept a careful eye on Diego and Sid, both of whom seemed unaware as to the attention. Sid was cooing softly to the baby, who was starting to wake. Diego followed at a more leisurely pace, not seeming to care that the stairs were creaking ominously under his weight. Manny, on the other hand, was downright petrified, not that he would show it.

Being the largest and heaviest of the group, it was no surprise that the one step that broke was under his foot.

As soon as the _crack_ was heard, Sid whipped around, eyes wide with fear. Manny launched himself up onto the next one, Diego close behind him, but Manny's weight and sudden force on the wood was too much - the stairs cracked under every weight.

"GO!"

Ignoring the fact that any staff might hear, Manny sprinted on upward. Diego followed, eyes wide as Sid finally managed to launch himself to the platform at the top. Manny tried to follow, but knew that he was going too slowly. Diego was snarling behind him, looking around, before Manny eventually made a decision. Grabbing ahold of Diego's arm and ignoring the other arm that tried to dig it's elbow into his face, Manny flung Diego to the platform just as the stair underneath him collapsed.

"MANNY!" Sid called out, the baby forgotten on the ground.

Diego leaned forward, sharp golden-green eyes already spotting Manny at the side, clinging onto a banister. Offering a reluctant hand, Diego pulled Manny up, surprising the larger boy at the hidden strength that the lithe boy possessed.

Sid hugged Manny tightly, clinging on and not caring about Manny's scowl. Diego looked up, meeting Manny's eyes directly as Sid finally leapt off and went to collect the baby. "Why'd you do that? You nearly died."

Manny shrugged. "Cause it was the right thing to do?"

A raised eyebrow. "Save a sociopath?"

Manny shrugged again, reciting the lesson that his mother had forced him to learn by heart. "No human deserves to die more than the other."

Diego looked at him strangely, but led them onwards.

* * *

Soto looked around the attic. The large window's glass was weak and easy to smash. It would be easy to first shove Manny and then Sid over it. How'd they get the baby he would leave to Diego. For now, he watched Lenny, hiding by the door, Zeke, standing with a baseball bat that the staff had miraculously granted him, and Oscar, priwling about the shadows.

A creak suddenly sounded, and all four tensed.

* * *

They were nearly at the attic. Manny tried to seek comfort in that, but the light slowly emitting from behind the many closed curtains disturbed Manny. How Diego was not lost yet was beyond him. The whole asylum was a maze that would trap you and never let you go…unless you knew where you were going. And Diego did.

Manny followed, scowling at the baby.

The baby didn't seem to notice as it continued cooing. Then just as they were about to enter the corridor that led to the stairs up to the attic, Diego suddenly stopped, turning around. He had taken to shuffling his cards once more, and seemed nervous.

"Don't go."

"What?" Manny demanded, entirely confused.

"Soto's waiting there. And he's going to 'get rid of you'." Diego quoted. "Permanently."

Manny didn't know how, but all he did know was that his fight or flight instincts were settling in quickly. _He was bigger than Diego_. He slammed Diego into the wall, ignoring the hiss that came with it, and the flash of rage that came across Diego's eyes. Sid was standing back, eyes wide.

"We can get out, Sid." Manny instructed.

Sid looked nervous. "We don't know the way back."

And that was sadly true. Manny didn't know how much he had relied on Diego leading them around to realise that he had absolutely no idea how many turns and twists they had taken to get to the steps, which were located in different places on all floors. The door that covered them were the same as the other rooms - they would never find their way back in time for morning checkup.

"We can fight our way out of this." Manny ordered.

Sid nodded anxiously, clinging more tightly to the baby, but Diego shook his head.

"Soto's a psychopath. Anything you do to him, he won't feel unless you bash his head in completely. And if that happens, they'll find out it was you. Trust me, they will." Diego managed out. "Let me lead you."

"Why should I?!" Manny demanded, tightening his grip on Diego's throat. To hell with what his mother said. It would be so easy to suddenly go and squash Diego's throat.

"Because I'm the only thing that will get you out of here alive."


	4. Part I: Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age.

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**AN: And this is the next chapter!**

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Chapter 3:  
Sid entered the room, with a bundle in his arms. Without hesitation, Zeke, from his convenient hiding position, attacked before Lenny could, lunging forward. Sid backed away frightened, eyes wide, before he sprinted out of the room. Lenny made to move as Zeke disappeared through the door, but Diego appeared, his eyes wide with something akin to panic.

Soto sprang forward as Diego beckoned to him, tilting his head outside and mouthing Manny.

Nodding, Soto followed Diego outside the room to a dark room that he couldn't see - not that he needed to. He trusted Diego completely.

Manny crashed through the attic, finding Lenny there. Lenny tried to tackle Manny, but he was no match for Manny's near inhuman strength, and was flung into the wall. Oscar lunged out from where he was hiding and managed a good punch on Manny's shoulder, but the bigger boy recovered quickly, turning around and sending Oscar flying out the doorway.

Diego and Soto turned at the noise, and Diego cursed at the sound. He had told Manny specifically to keep the fight inside the attic.

Soto turned to Diego and Diego could tell from the glint in his eye that Soto had realised everything. The older boy turned back to run after Sid, but Diego punched Soto, before running down the flight of stairs that seemed to have magically appeared. Soto followed, not even paying attention to where Diego was leading him. Diego moved quickly, running down the stairs and opening the door on the eleventh floor, barely missing Zeke and Sid, who were now sliding into a room.

Soto ran after Diego, who sprinted to the lift, slamming a hand on the button. The lift dinged conveniently, and Diego disappeared inside it, Soto following not too soon after. The dim white lighting in the lift was eerie, but Soto didn't seem to care, lunging for Diego, who rolled to the side. Taking a chance, Diego pressed Basement.

The numbers on the dashboard of the lift lit up one by one in a seemingly random pattern. Soto lunged for Diego once more, managing to pin him to the back of the wall, not noticing that Diego's eyes were rapidly following the set of glowing numbers, remembering their order, before the door dinged and slid open. Diego kicked Soto, who collapsed to the floor before springing up again.

Diego rammed his hand into the lift dashboard, managing to press about half of the numbers that had lit up before in the same order, before he kicked Soto out of the lift. Going back to the dashboard and ignoring the pain that was the bruises around his throat - first from Manny and now from Soto - Diego finished the combination and closed the door, just in time to see blood red eyes launch out of the shadows at Soto.

The door closed and dinged, before going back up.

Diego slumped against the wall, panting heavily at the brief scare, before looking up as the door dinged once more and opened, on the eleventh floor, where Sid was walking out of the room triumphantly, the baby safely in his hands. Manny was also there, and raised an eyebrow at Diego.

All Manny got was a pair of narrowed eyes and a "You were supposed to keep them inside the attic."

Manny had the decency to look a bit ashamed, before he looked at Sid and the empty corridor, which was already lightening up with the day. That meant it was nearly 6 in the morning - morning checkups started at 7:30.

Diego seemed to sense his thoughts. "Make it quick and be back before 7:15. I'll let you in through the doors at the time, and wait for only five minutes before I'll close it and you're on your own. I'll distract them." he didn't seem to have any sort of worry despite the fact that from what he had planned, he had just led one of his closest friends, Soto, to his death.

Nodding and revelling in how much he suddenly seemed to trust the lithe sociopathic boy despite him knowing that Diego probably going to do the same thing to Manny if he ever found it necessary, Manny headed to the lift, which amazingly led to the attic.

Diego peered inside and pressed the topmost button. He stayed in the lift with them. Manny looked in bewilderment at the different flickering numbers: 5, 8, 2, 3, 1, 6, and, finally, 12. Diego wrote these down on a card, gesturing that Manny should leave with Sid.

Both nodded and left.

Diego pressed the lift down, looking at the flickering numbers. Before he exited the lift back at the right floor, he pressed the fifth floor, whistling as he walked out.

Not once did guilt cross his mind at what gruesome fate awaited Soto.

* * *

Manny hurried Sid back, who, for once, was not complaining at all as they reached the looming asylum. Manny briefly thought about his first time there and how things had changed. And then, as the gates swung open temporarily, letting the two in before closing again, Manny wondered how Diego managed to pull this sort of thing off.

Then realised he did not want to know.

Diego was waiting for them inside the round general room that was in the middle of the doors of their bedrooms. The door leading to the general room could only be opened from the inside, unless it was left open (which it was during the day, considering that the staff were always up and about then). The two went in, going to their own thankfully still open doors.

Now that Manny thought about it, all of the bedroom doors were open. Diego slammed each shut, before going over to his own room, closing it.

The last thing that Manny saw before Diego closed his door, was a pair of golden-green eyes that scrutinised him carefully and then disappeared. Manny turned, making sure that Sid's door was closed, before he himself closed the door, leapt onto his bed and pulled the blankets over himself, closing his eyes.

* * *

Manny awoke with a knocking at his door. He pulled himself up and went to his closet, changing as he did every morning though the uniform was still the same as his 'night clothes'. He walked outside, seeing Sid grin brightly at him from where he was eating breakfast at the coffee table, while Diego leaned against the wall, alone with a bowl of cereal.

Someone was sitting on the couch, and Manny felt worry gathering in his gut. He exchanged a discreet glance with Diego, who shook his head softly. Manny sat down, helping himself to some fruit, while the person on the couch, sitting upright and dressed in a black suit, looked at them out of stormy grey eyes, scrutinising him in a manner that reminded Manny of Diego.

His voice was cold and clipped. "You are all getting transferred."  
**  
**


	5. Part II: Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age.

* * *

Part II:  
Chapter 1:  
Manfred "Manny" Peterson leaned against the back of the minivan, looking at Sidney "Sid" Weiver, who was humming aimlessly to himself, his bag sitting next to him. Diego Azorr was leaning on the opposite side of the minivan, shuffling his deck of cards carelessly as he usually did.

The silence for the long drive was good for Manny to think.

A surprising much had happened since he first set foot in Half-Peak Asylum for the Mentally Disturbed. Since going there from his previous asylum, he had met Sid Weiver, who had developmental dyspraxia and became 'acquainted' with him. And then he had met Diego Azorr, a sociopath that, as he had learnt the last hour from hearing the boy recite a book he only read once word for word, an impressive photographic memory.

Manny himself? He possessed an almost inhumane strength that had been provoked from personal trauma, resulting in him killing two students at his school at the orphanage.

The minivan finally came to a stop - as did Sid's humming. Diego, however, continued shuffling, unfazed. The doors opened, and the three blinked in the bright light as two faces - lean and sharp - peered in, smirks on their faces. The "Vulture Brothers", as the two were known, were notorious for their cruelty towards anything younger than them, be it an animal or a human, and had been arrested before countless times. How they got jobs at a mental asylum was beyond Manny, but he supposed that the asylum needed some people with force sometimes.

Manny stepped out with his bag, followed by Sid, with Diego right on his heels. Diego's cards were safely in his pocket by now, Manny knew. Manny walked along the narrow path, stopping to read the name of the place: Valley Asylum for the Mentally Disturbed. Well, the man, whoever he was, did state that the asylum was a sister asylum to Half-Peak. While Manny stopped, Diego continued on, not even stopping as he entered the lobby.

The lobby was square shaped, with two hallways leading out from it at the back and right of the room - one for the staff, one for the patients. The whole room was a dizzying shade of white that made Manny's eyes hurt. The white lights were bright and fake. A coffee table was in the middle of the room, couches surrounding it.

The Vulture Brothers led the trio into their own rooms, the whole place's atmosphere a complete difference from the eerie and pressing atmosphere of Half-Peak. Diego looked around at the nurses in white and raised an eyebrow, before shrugging and entering his room, returning out shortly without his bag and his deck of cards.

The nurse, who was probably in charge, turned to the three of them. "You three are expected to attend group therapy."

Diego snorted. "So we're supposed to gather in a circle and discuss how crappy our lives are with other people?"

The nurse sent him a disapproving look, but nodded. "It'll be here, in five minutes. Let me gather everyone."

Diego snorted again as the nurse left. "We're in a mental asylum. What good do they think group therapy's gonna do us?" Manny couldn't help but agree, especially after experiencing Half-Peak.

The Vulture Brothers cackled before disappearing through the door. Manny could hear their conversation even from inside.

"Looks like it's gonna rain."

"It'll be a flood for sure."

As Sid and Manny plopped down on the couches crammed at the corner, someone came out from the patients' wards. A teenager, around the same age as Sid, maybe a bit older though not as old as Diego, plopped himself down next to Diego. "Hey there, friend!"

Diego's only response was to ignore the boy.

"The name's Fast Tony. You?"

No answer.

"C'mon, talk to me here, pal, don't leave me hanging!"

Diego turned around, growl evident. "You will be hanging unless you leave me alone!"

Fast Tony nodded rapidly, now getting the hint and rushing out of the room.

"You didn't have to do that." Sid noted.

Diego rolled his eyes and continued shuffling his cards. The head nurse returned with other patients, the largest a girl with deep green eyes and red hair. A pair of twins, brunette and similar in appearance to each other, appeared behind her. Fast Tony was trembling behind the nurse. The nurse raised an eyebrow at Diego. Diego looked back, completely unafraid.

Manny sighed. Not even ten minutes here and Diego was already causing trouble.

The patients crammed themselves around the sofa, most keeping a clear distance from Diego. The girl sat beside Manny, while the twins sat on her left. Sid sat next to Fast Tony. The nurse pulled out a chair, and nodded to a boy. "Start us please, Marcus."

Marcus nodded. "My name's Marcus, and I was sent here for sending my principal to the hospital." Diego cackled, eyes bright with delight. The nurse sent him a sharp look, but Diego leaned forward.

"What'd you do?"

Marcus sweat dropped at the intense gaze. "I-I-I hit him on the head. With a dictionary."

Diego snorted, before leaning back.

Marcus looked at the nurse, who nodded at him to continue. "I think that I'm getting better now, though, I can control my mood swings better, and I'd like to return home soon."

Another snort.

The nurse glared at Diego. "Do you mind!"

"Yes, I do." Diego rolled his eyes. "Why am I here again?"

The nurse growled, while the patients seemed more scared. "Because you're going to share why you are in an asylum and how you feel today."

Diego rolled his eyes once more, shuffling his deck of cards. "Fine. My name is none of your business, and I was sent here for plotting the murders of everyone I knew."

Gulps were audible as the patients tried to back away more from Diego.

The nurse swallowed as she nodded for him to continue. "And how do you feel today?"

"Like I want to kill someone today. Preferably you."

The nurse looked like she was about to murder him, though there was clear undertone of fear. "You like shuffling cards, yes? How'd you learn that?"

"From a policeman."

Manny looked at Diego, surprised.

The nurse was clearly surprised as well. "Well, that's good, how did you know him?"

"He was arresting me for the eighth time and decided to try and teach me something to prove I wasn't completely worthless." Diego snorted. "Weird logic, but I got a pack of free cards."

The nurse looked like she was swallowing a lemon. "How nice."

"Yes." Diego mused. "The cookies they had in the waiting room was good. But the coffee was terrible." he shrugged.

"Well," the nurse looked like she was choking now. "I hope you enjoy your stay at the asylum."

Another snort.

"What is it?!" The nurse demanded, clearly at her wit's end. She didn't seem to have any experience with patients like Diego, explaining the happy atmosphere of the place, and the security guards approached now.

Diego rolled his eyes. "This is not an asylum. More like a hospital." he leaned back, arms crossed and smirk firmly in place. "And I'm done."

The nurse glared at him, but put up her hand. The guards stopped, dark eyes looking at Diego, who looked back, uninterested. Manny sighed, leaning back further into the seat. There was no way this was going to end well. Suddenly, he realised the girl beside him was shaking and tensing now, head buried in her hands. He frowned, turning to her, one hand outstretched.

"Hey, are you okay?"

His hand met her shoulder, and she shook it off fiercely, eyes glaring at him. "Don't touch me!" she immediately sprinted out of the room. Manny turned to Sid, as stunned as he was, before Manny turned to look at Diego. The claimed-sociopathic boy was frowning deeply at the girl's retreating back, before he seemed to make up his mind and sprinted after her, easily dodging the guards who reached out for him.

* * *

Ellie groaned as she buried her head in her hands. She couldn't believe that she had just snapped at the guy. He was only wanting to help. Sighing, she sunk down beside the wall, before a rustling met her ears. She frowned and looked up.

The boy with the golden-green eyes appeared, eyebrow raised. An unasked question.

Ellie shrugged, gesturing to the small space next to her.

The boy sat down, but didn't say a word.

"I'm pretty sure you think I'm crazy, don't you?" Ellie broke the silence. She could never have long silences in conversation - she needed to break it.

The boy frowned. "More like suffering from photographic memory."

Ellie's head whipped around. "How'd you-?"

The boy tapped the side of his head. "I recognise the signs. When everything gets too much." Ellie looked down. "Question is - what was it?"

Ellie frowned, shrugging. "It just happens on and off. For the next few minutes, I can remember everything. But once my mind drifts, I completely forget that thing and my memory is about as normal as the average human."

The boy leaned back, eyes closed. "I didn't know such a thing was possible."

"How'd you find me?"

"I followed you." even through his closed eyes, Ellie got the impression that he was rolling his eyes at her.

Ellie frowned, looking around. "Aren't you afraid of getting lost?"

Another tap to the side of his head. "Photographic memory, remember? I never get lost."

Ellie then suddenly brightened up, realising that they had been talking for about five minutes but she still didn't know his name. She stuck out her hand and hoped she wouldn't be rebuffed. "I'm Ellie. What's your name?"

The boy examined her carefully, before finally accepting the hand. "Diego."

* * *

That night, glowing green-golden eyes appeared in the dark, looking around carefully. He had been placed in a separate room, to prevent him from 'negatively influencing' anyone, which was their biggest mistake. He listened - no one was awake. Slipping out of bed silently, he walked over to the door, and pressed his ear against it.

He could hear the quiet and occasional beeps that his lock made. Rolling his eyes, he felt around the wall in the dark. His hands came against a slightly lump in the wall, and he pulled it open. Looking at it, he sighed, shaking his head. Did they really think that the patients were stupid enough to not think about the trap? Christ…but, then again, this place was nearly heaven to the Half-Peak's hell, so…

Diego looked at the many wires. They were all tangled together, and it was hard to make out the faint colours in the dark, but compared to the security at Half-Peak, this was a piece of cake.

Fiddling with the wires for a second, Diego closed his eyes briefly, remembering the numbers pressed - the guards thought they were being sneaky, huh? Diego shook his head once more, and then typed in the passcode using the many wires. Grinning as the door swung open, Diego made his way out and left, looking around.

His feet made no sound as he walked through the hallways that he had already explored in the morning.

He had already explored the garden, the cemetery and the hallways - now, he just had to explore the construction site that was near the asylum. He made his way out with relative ease, and for a moment wondered if they were keeping tabs on him, before shrugging and leaving. The punishment couldn't be worse than the one in Half-Peak.

Moving quickly, he went through the doors and walked out into the open air. Taking the path that turned around the building, he found himself in the garden, at the back of which had a tall steel gate.

He rolled his eyes once again. Amateurs.

Making his way up and down the gate with relative ease, he moved to the construction site, looking around. Everything was shut down for the night, which made it all the more dangerous, but it did the opposite to Diego - it made him feel more alive with the thrill. Walking around, he recorded what he could see to memory with the dim street lights.

Diego noticed a manhole beside the construction site and looked down, frowning. He then looked up. It was already getting bright. Did he take so long in getting through the garden to the site?

He had to be more careful next time. Thunder sounded above, and Diego looked up, frowning. Looks like there's going to be a storm.

Sighing, Diego turned to leave, sprinting back the way he came.


	6. Part II: Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age.

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**AN: Alright, this is the fifth chapter! The next chapter is...well, I don't think it's the best, but I don't know. Thanks to IceAge Mutant who reviewed!**

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Chapter 2:  
THE NEXT MORNING  
Eddie turned and nudged Crash, who woke up, startled. But his expression quickly turned sly and excited. He leaped out of bed, completely in sync with his twin as both walked to the door. Crash pressed the code that never changed. After all, what the Matron didn't know couldn't hurt her, right?

Looking at one another, they grinned in maniacal glee before rushing out the door, careful to leave a crack in the door to ensure that they could return and close the door to avoid any suspicion. The twins were sure footed as they ran down the corridor, avoiding any security guards with years of practice. Once they got to the stairs, they slid downstairs to the basement, and made their way to the door leading them up.

Afterwards, the door opened, revealing two eager faces. Crash and Eddie scampered out of the creakity door, well used from many years. They walked along to the cemetery, looking around. They made their way quickly to the construction sight, "ooh"ing and "ah"ing over the shiny construction machinery.

It had been a long time since they had walked out - after all, not a lot of things happened around the asylum.

Crash supported Eddie, sending him over the tall fence. Eddie landed neatly, and turned to catch Crash as his twin landed on all fours. They wandered around, careful not to let their blue clothes become too dirty - it wouldn't do if the Matron caught on to what they were doing.

"Crash, look at that!" Eddie pointed towards a dark hole.

Crash hurried to move where Eddie was pointing. It was a hole leading to the bottom, with a ladder leading down. The two exchanged a coy look, and smirked before climbing down the ladder.

The hole was pretty dark, and the two waited for their eyes to get accustomed to the dark before treading ahead, looking around and making sure that there wasn't any sort of traps that they could get hit by. Cement sloshed under their feet, while some drops of water dropped onto their head. Wandering along for a while, they looked at the three tunnels in front of them.

"Which one?" Crash whispered.

"Eenie, meanie, miny mo!" Eddie grinned. "That one."

They walked through the one on the very left. Eddie's mind instantly remembered the way, and they walked along. This happened several times, but the adventurous twins didn't stop. Not until about an hour later when Crash commented that they should make their way back.

Only for the two to realise that they were lost.

Eddie's short term memory and Crash's exceptional long-term memory should've served as an asset, but the memory was too long-term for Eddie to remember, and it wasn't long-term enough for Crash to actually remember the way back. The two looked at each other. With Eddie, they could make their way back for a short while, then they would be deserted.

Shrugging, both decided to give it a shot.

* * *

Manny found himself sitting next to Ellie. For some reason, the idea freaked him out even though he could easily take Ellie down in a fight - or so he supposed. He had yet to see her strength. Diego was sitting in the corner, shuffling his ever present cards, while Sid was mysteriously missing. Manny relished in the silence while Diego watched Ellie and Manny with sharp hazel green eyes.

"So, um, you came to this place a long time ago?"

Ellie looked at Manny, surprised, while Diego merely turned his attention back to his cards. "Um, yes. A few years ago."

"Your parents left you here?"

Ellie's tone turned frosty. "I never knew them. I was sent here from an orphanage."

For some reason, bells began to ring in Manny's mind, but he couldn't remember why. However, Diego's head shot up unknown to the two.

"Oh. I never knew."

"Yes, you didn't." Ellie's tone was still frigid.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend." Manny stuttered. That was a sudden change.

Ellie shook her head. "I'm sorry, it's my fault. I shouldn't have snapped."

Manny relaxed slightly.

"I just…I like to think of my parents only wanting the best for me. They didn't mean to leave me in an orphanage. I mean, they might, but still. Maybe they didn't have a choice, or wanted the best for me."

"I understand." Manny nodded at her. His parents had gone through the same thing. "I understand."

* * *

"What's holding you back?" Diego plopped himself down next to Manny, cards ever present in his hands.

"What're you talking about?"

Diego frowned. "Don't try to play dumb. You clearly like Ellie." He leaned back. "So what's holding you back?"

Manny returned the frown. "What? I don't know what you're talking about."

"Ellie's…sweet, I guess, by your standards. So what's holding you back?" Diego's eyes bore into his. It was clear that Manny wasn't going to win this one.

"She's not my type."

Diego snorted. "You've been in an asylum all your life. You don't _have_ a type."

Manny flushed as he stood up. "I don't remember joining this dating service."

Diego looked up, not at all intimidated. "Say what you like, Manny, but if I'm right, we're not going to be here for much longer. If you don't act now, you'll never get another chance."

* * *

Sid crept around, hoping to avoid the two scary security guard. He didn't feel very confident, especially without Manny or Diego nearby. Well, Sid was not too sure about Diego, but he was sure the sociopathic boy was pretty nice. Deep down inside. Very very deep down.

He noticed a set of staircase, and looked up. Logic dictated that he should head upward, but he was drawn to the bottom.

Carefully walking on the steps, Sid managed to make his way to an old basement, with the door wide open. Sid frowned as he felt a draught, and moved towards it, finding a set of doors open. He sighed and closed it. What irresponsible owners this place must have. Turning around, Sid walked around, muttering to himself. He was going to get lost at this rate.

Logic reasoning won Sid's mind this time, and Sid went back the way he came - to the stairs. However, he tripped over something, and looked at it. The cover was opened slightly. Wouldn't hurt to take a look.

Sid opened the box-thing more, and his eyes widened upon seeing a dead person, body mangled, staring straight up at him.

And then…the figure blinked.

Screaming, Sid threw the lid back on and fled up the stairs. He needed to tell Manny or Diego about this.

* * *

Ellie blinked and jumped as thunder boomed overhead. Manny looked out the window. It was raining heavily. To his surprise, he had been talking with Ellie so long that he had lost track of time and the fact that it had started raining. Lightning struck, and the rain continued to pour down on the window, pounding it so hard that the window rattled.

Diego looked up as another flash of lightning shot through the sky. A grin was on his face, and Manny worried for a second.

Then a familiar scream was heard as Sid sprinted into the room and moved to Manny. "Manny! Manny!" he was panting. "You would not believe what I just saw! There was a coffin, and a box, and the basement, and-"

"Whoa. Calm down, Sid." Manny frowned at the kid. What would've gotten him so rattled? Actually, he thought, lots of things.

Diego stood up and stared out the window. "Looks like there's gonna be a flood. They should evacuate us soon."

Manny stood up and shook Sid off as he peered out the window with Diego. The boy wasn't joking. The rain had already formed something akin to a shallow pond around the asylum.

"Wait." Ellie stopped. "Where're my brothers?"

"Them?" Diego asked, frowning. "I think I saw them leaving. Going to the basement."

Sid hummed thoughtfully. "That would explain the open doors."

"Why didn't you start with that?!" Ellie demanded. Suddenly, thunder struck again, and Ellie jumped, clinging onto Manny. Manny cleared his throat, trying to ignore the fact. Diego frowned as he heard alarms outside.

"What's that?"

Ellie frowned as well. "I don't know."

A guard came in, radiating urgency. "We are all to go to higher ground until the flood ends."

Diego gestured outside. "You do realise that it isn't exactly life-threatening yet, right?"

"Which is why we're taking the chance to go to higher ground."

"Higher ground?" Diego snorted. "This place has three floors. One of which is the basement."

The guard growled. "We're going to the van and heading inland. Hopefully finding shelter."

Manny snorted. _Hopefully_?_ They were from an asylum. Who in their right mind would give them shelter?_

"Wait!" Ellie cried. "My brothers are still out there!"

The guard frowned. "Well, then they're on their own."

Manny looked at Ellie's distraught face and made a split second decision. He turned to Diego. Diego's green-gold flecked eyes met his. "Knock him out."

The guard barely had time to ask "What?!" before Diego landed a solid punch on his jaw. There was a crack, but Diego paid no mind to it as he kicked between the man's legs and then shoved him outside to the corridor.

"They'll come back for him." Manny reassured Ellie. Ellie looked both fascinated and disgusted at the same time from the blood leaking out of the guard's mouth. Diego didn't even flinch at that - there was a distinct smug look on his face, and Manny had a feeling that Diego was rather pleased to do so.

"Let's go!" Diego called over his shoulder. He was already halfway down the corridor, approaching the stairs. Sid clung on to Manny while they went, and Ellie let go. Many felt disappointment over that, but ignored it. They clattered down the stairs, where the rain was already pouring in the floor. Sid shook Manny.

"Wait! There was something-"

They paid him no mind as they sprinted out into the darkness.


	7. Part II: Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age.

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**AN: And big thanks to IceAge Mutant for reviewing! I don't know if this chapter will be a letdown - I'm not very good at details and I usually build up and then let it down (in my opinion)! Enjoy!**

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Chapter 3:  
Manny got soaked within a few seconds of running outside. He was following Diego blindly in the darkness, but he had complete faith in the boy's ability to navigate around. "You've been here before?!" he shouted over the thunder.

Diego shouted back in affirmation before moving onwards. Ellie was close behind him, followed by Manny and Sid. Puddles sloshed around their feet, quickly soaking their shoes as well. Eventually, they reached a construction site.

"You do realise this says "Danger", right?" Sid called to the front of the line. He got no reply.

Diego scrambled over the fence with no problem. "They're not around here. They must be inside." With help, all three got over the fence. Manny was slightly worried that the fence was electric, but considering that Diego had gotten over easily, it must've malfunctioned when the rain began or not have been electric at all.

They moved inside, where they squinted to find the twins in the darkness. "Eddie? Crash?!" Ellie called out. She got no reply except for her echo.

"Here!" Diego called out. They followed the glowing pair of green eyes where he was kneeling next to an open manhole. "Only place they could be."

Diego grabbed a pebble nearby. He dropped it into the manhole and counted. "_1\. 2. 3. 4. 5_." A splash from the water. "We gotta jump. Only way in."

"What about the ladder?" Ellie asked.

"It's slippery. And probably rusted on a normal day. Not gonna risk it on a rainy day." He stood up and then leapt into the manhole. There was a grunt, and Manny knew that he had reached the bottom. He turned to Ellie, who looked worried but nodded and then jumped in. They heard Diego shouting at her. "Bend your knees! Bend your knees!"

A splash, and Manny turned to Sid. Sid was looking petrified, and Manny cursed his heart as he put Sid on his back before leaping down. It was dark and smelled rancid, but Manny ignored it as they landed with a splash. There was a tunnel leading out, though water was sloshing at their ankles now, steadily rising higher.

"Let's go!" Diego beckoned to them. They followed him as he lead them through a series of dizzying tunnels. Ellie didn't stop calling for her brothers. They moved around quickly as the water rose to their knees. They weren't deterred - they were already soaked anyway.

"Have you been here before?!" Manny shouted at Diego as he realised that they didn't exactly have a solid destination.

"No!" Diego shouted back. "I didn't get the opportunity to!"

Suddenly, Ellie grimaced and her hand grabbed onto Manny's shoulder, nearly pulling him down with her. "Whoa!"

Diego turned around at the exclamation, growling. "Out of all times."

"What's wrong with her?!" Manny demanded.

"Brief thing. Photographic memory. She'll be like this for another five minutes."

"Uh…" Sid looked up. "I don't think we _have_ five minutes."

Diego sighed. "Sloth, let's go. We'll try and find the twins and come back here. _Don't_ move or I won't be able to find you again."

"Got it." Manny nodded, and knelt down next to Ellie, ignoring the water that was now rising higher than his knees.

"Let's go!" Diego shouted at Sid, who ambled after him, looking hesitant but determined. They continued calling for the twins, before they finally heard a reply shout.

"Who's there?!"

"It's us, you idiots!" Diego scowled as they made their way to the voices. "Hurry up and get over here! There's gonna be a flood!" As if on cue, the ceiling creaked as water leaked downwards. Diego's eyes widened as he realised what was happening. "Hurry!"

The twins sprinted forward, nearly knocking the two over. Sid stumbled, but was grasped with an iron grip as Diego ran back the way they had come. "Don't split up, and keep up at all times!"

No reply, but Diego sprinted onwards until he tripped over something.

* * *

Manny looked at Ellie, careful not to touch her unless she touched him. "You ok?" _Stupid, Manny. Great question. She's not great. _

"Do you like me?" Ellie looked up, bright green eyes inquisitive.

"What?" Manny choked. That was the last thing he had expected her to ask. Though, considering her rather blunt nature and the fact that she wore her heart on her sleeve, it shouldn't have been much of a surprise.

"Do you like me?" Ellie asked, more slowly.

"Why-why would you ask that?"

Ellie looked at him more closely. "Because I think I might like you."

Manny spluttered. "You-you-you do?"

"Yes." Ellie decided. "So what's holding you back?"

Manny hesitated. "I don't want to suffer if someone else I love goes."

"So you love me?" Ellie looked down. "Isn't this too fast? We've barely known each other for a week."

Manny shrugged. "When you're in an asylum, you don't exactly have the luxury of time."

Ellie smiled and held his hand. "That's nice."

Ellie's previous question sounded eerily similar to something someone he knew said. "Wait a minute. Have you been talking to Diego?"

Ellie merely grinned. "Does it matter?"

"I guess not."

* * *

"Di?" Manny's voice sounded.

Diego turned to the voices. "Hurry up. The tunnel's collapsing!"

Upon hearing that, both of them quickly took the rear of the group. For a long time, Manny felt nothing but the cold of the water that was now up to his waist. Ellie was carrying the twins on her back, but she looked like she was slowing down. Sighing, Manny took over Eddie, allowing Ellie to move over quicker. Sid was stumbling in the water, but Diego didn't seem deterred even though he was shortest out of them (besides the twins).

Eventually, they reached the tunnel leading up. Without hesitation, Diego shoved Sid up. "Hurry up!" The twins clung on to Manny and Ellie as the two scaled the ladder, closely followed by Diego, who looked down every so often and felt panic as the water continued to rise. "Hurry up!"

Diego slipped on the last rung, but Manny instantly turned around at the yelp and pulled him up. They collapsed on the floor, painting as the sun started to show and the clouds disappeared.

"That was fast." Sid noted with pleasure.

As they stood up, Diego turned to Manny. "And Manny?"

"Hm?" Manny asked, distracted.

"Call me Di again and I will castrate you so painfully you'll be begging for death."

Manny froze and nodded slowly, knowing that the boy would actually find some way to do it. Diego smiled. "Good." Then he turned and started to lead them out.

Sid stumbled beside Diego. "Wait. Didn't Soto call you Di?"

Diego didn't turn around as he replied. "He had his reasons. And I've decided not to kill you now. Don't push your luck." They reached the asylum to find the asylum empty.

"Oh wait!" Sid suddenly piped. "I found something in the basement. More than a something. More like some_things_."

Manny sighed but followed the boy anyway. The others followed behind him. They went down the stairs, only to find it empty. "What?" Sid frowned looking around. "I swear, there was stuff here before. There was this coffin that I opened, and the corpse _blinked_ and stuff-"

"Look, Sid, you could've been sleepwalking-"

"No." Diego interrupted Manny. "There was something here before. I saw it. It's all gone."

There was heavy silence before Eddie spoke up. "Then where's it gone?"

"The guards wouldn't have time to clear it out." Diego frowned as he straightened up and looked around. The water was receding from the basement. He looked at the trapdoor. It was firmly closed. The silence was deafening. The darkness made it seem as though the walls were closing in on them. "Someone else has been here."

"But why would they be trying to get all of the coffins or what it was out?" Ellie frowned.

Diego rocked back on his heels, his eyes narrowed. "Because it was something that someone didn't want destroyed or found." Diego said. He looked around. "Well," he grinned manically. "Let's find out."

"But what do we do now?" Crash asked. "We're stuck here with no transport."

Diego shrugged. "Get some food from the pantry. The flood wouldn't have affected the freezers too badly, the oven should be working, and we've only been gone a few hours. See if there's any water around, and then we'll try to get back."

"Why can't we call someone?" Ellie asked. "I saw a phone somewhere."

"No." Diego shook his head. "It'd get discovered. Someone's willing to go through great lengths to keep the coffins away before anyone but Sid to find it, and that was completely by accident. The police wouldn't believe us." He headed back up the stairs, and Sid scurried after him, not willing to be left behind as the others followed - although they were few, Manny and Ellie were pretty strong. And Diego _had_ plotted the murder of someone without hesitation.

Diego turned around. "We're pawns in someone's game. We just need to find out what game it is." **  
**


	8. Part III: Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age.

* * *

**AN: This is based of the third movie, and I think this part is the weakest part of this story, so...yeah. Just so you know.**

* * *

PART III:  
Chapter 1:  
Sidney "Sid" Weiver looked up. Ever since the flood, the guards and patients and Matron had returned to the asylum, finding them alive, much to Matron's displeasure (because of Diego, obviously). They had been moved to another asylum not too far from there for a few days as renovations were made on the old building. As they had returned, Sid found the asylum now eerily resembled the first one they had been to. Diego Azorr and Manfred "Manny" Peterson evidently realised the same thing.

Diego was shuffling his cards next to him, looking bored (Sid had no idea how he had gotten those cards back). Manny and Ellie Middleton were somewhere, probably making out. After a few days, they had gone straight to dating status. The twins, Crash and Eddie Middleton (they didn't know their real names and it wasn't on the records) had been disappointed, and caused as much mayhem as possible.

They had once caught Diego, and Diego had actually hung them by their feet from the ceiling fan on the fifth floor. He had gained access to the lift, which irritated the staff to no bounds. It had been at least 24 hours before the staff found the twins. The twins never did anything to Diego ever again. Ellie had been livid and ranted at Diego, but the sociopathic boy had simply shrugged it off.

Back to the present. Sid thought he heard something. He froze. There it was again. Was that…puppies? He moved forward slowly, heading down the stairs. He was petrified of the basement after his last horrifying experience there. But if it was sweet puppies…he climbed down the stairs slowly. He reached the basement and looked around. It was dark, but empty.

He exhaled in relief. Hearing the puppies' cries again, he walked forward timidly. "Puppies? Hello?"

Without hesitation, he walked forward again, before he cried out in alarm as the floor underneath him collapsed under him. He fell down and landed hard. He felt something, or somethings tackle him, and he yelped loudly. But as wet tongues lapped at him, he realised that it was the puppies. "Ah! Hello! Where's your mom?"

The puppies merely whined, before they suddenly sprinted towards one direction. Sid quickly ran after them, where he realised that the lift door was open. He beckoned them back. "No! No! Come back here! Danger!"

The puppies titled their heads, before yapping eagerly again. Sid sighed, and turned around. He heard creaking and realised that someone was on the floor above. Dammit! If the staff caught him, he would be punished. He quickly sprinted into the lift, pressing the button "1" and hoping that it would take him back to surface.

As the lift moved, Sid belatedly realised two things.

One, there was a possibility that one of the staff would realise that he was in the lift. And secondly, this lift worked almost the same way as the other lift back at Half-Peak.

He was dead. Sid was sure of it. As the lift wildly plunged up and down, he screamed loudly, hoping for help even though he would receive punishment and he didn't know what would happen to the puppies.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside, Diego turned to the lift. He had been sitting outside it for a long time, and had noticed when someone used it. He memorised the flickering numbers before it stopped and he shrugged.

Must've been someone new.

* * *

"Hey, where's Sid?" Ellie asked Manny.

Manny frowned. "Why?"

"He was going to go with me for our weekly checkup, but I didn't see him. The Matron was furious."

Manny snorted at that, but shrugged. "I don't know."

"We saw him!" Eddie piped up.

"Yeah! Heading down to the basement!" Crash added.

"We went down, but the weiner turned and ran." Eddie finished.

"But we only saw a gigantic hole in the floor." Crash nodded.

Manny turned to Ellie, seeing a glint in her eye. "Ellie, no-"

"C'mon, Manny, we'll just check it out. If we find nothing, we'll come back here."

Manny still hesitated. Something didn't feel right. "Then can we at least get Diego?"

"We have no time, Manny!" Ellie turned and walked to the basement, closely followed by the twins. Manny groaned before following his crazy girlfriend down to the basement. Like the twins said, the hole was still in the ground. That meant that the staff hadn't found out about it yet. Manny exhaled before looking down the hole. He turned to his girlfriend and frowned.

"Ellie, no-"

Again, his warning was ignored at Ellie leaped down the hole without even testing to see how long it would take before she fell. The twins followed soon after, ever loyal to their sister. Manny groaned again before leaping down as well. Luckily, the three had moved away before he landed.

They looked around. "Nothing here." Manny sighed. "Let's try and find a way back out."

Ellie had the decency to look sheepish before her eye caught something. "Hey, look there! The lift!"

"Ellie, we'll get in serious trouble if the staff find us in the lift!"

"Better than staying down here." Ellie argued back. She turned and approached the lift, opening the door. She entered inside. "You coming?" The twins scurried after her, and Manny followed. He had a bad feeling about this. The last time they had taken a lift at Half-Peak…

Ellie pressed '1'. "See? Easy."

The lift headed upwards slowly, before wildly plunging up and down. They yelped as they went up and down.

* * *

Diego frowned at the lift. That was the second time it had processed those numbers. It must've malfunctioned or something. He stood up and headed to the rec room. He turned to a new patient. "Seen Sid, Manny or Ellie?"

He was willing to bet where Ellie was, the twins wouldn't be far behind. Or Sid. Both seemed equally likely.

The kid gulped. "I think they were heading to the basement."

Diego scowled and stormed to the stairs. As soon as he got down, he raised an eyebrow. A gigantic hole in the ground. He shook his head before leaping down, eyes scanning the area. Empty. He moved to the lift and pressed opened it. "They would be trying to get back to the first floor." He pressed "1" and waited for a while.

The lift dinged, but he didn't even flinch as the lift shot up and down before stopping and depositing him out. Diego looked around, frowning. Skeletons were everywhere, but that didn't faze him. Some were cracked, as if someone had already been there. "I just have to clean up after them, don't I?"

Diego sighed and moved in the direction of cracked skeletons. He stopped when he heard a growl, and then heard Ellie shout. Oh god. Suddenly, someone wrapped an arm around him. Diego didn't waste any time in sending an elbow into a tough stomach and flinging his fist back. The person behind him slapped him.

The sociopathic boy got ready to elbow him again, but the person hissed for him to shut up. "Your friends over there?"

"I wouldn't call them friends." Diego rubbed his arm, where the person had struck him.

"There's gonna be some hounds surrounding them. We have to get them over the line of bones over there, you see? They can hide behind there with the rotting corpses and their smell will be blocked out and the hounds will go away."

Diego nodded reluctantly.

They moved towards the back of the hounds. Manny's eyes widened when he saw the two of them, but Diego didn't waste any time. Move back. Over skeletons. He mouthed to Manny. He did it again. Manny's brow furrowed, but he dragged Ellie back. Just a few steps more. The twins latched onto Ellie.

One of the hounds growled, but Manny tumbled over the skeletons and hid there. Ellie moved backwards as well, managing to land with the twins on her. The person next to Diego let out a whoop, but Diego was already sprinting towards the skeletons. His eyes narrowed as the hounds turned to leap at him. As soon as they left the ground, Diego slid on the floor, making his way to the skeletons. The person followed soon after.

"Sh."

The hounds eventually left.

"Now." The person turned to them, and they saw an eyepatch over one eye. "Who're you lot?"**  
**


	9. Part III: Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age.

* * *

**AN: And here's the next chapter...thanks to IceAge Mutant for reviewing!**

* * *

Chapter 2:  
"I'm Ellie. This is Manny. These are my twin brothers, Eddie and Crash. And this is Diego." Ellie looked in astonishment at the man in front of them as she spoke. He was wearing a tattered set of clothes that Ellie recognised was much like their own sets of hospital patient clothes. He was holding onto a sharpened bone.

The mad man nodded, looking at them.

"What's your name?"

"Buck." The man seemed pleased. "Short for Buckminster, long for Buh."

"Fascinating." Diego drawled, not at all interested.

"What's your problem?" Buck asked. Diego turned around, eyebrow raised. There was a dangerous glint in his eye that Manny recognised and feared. "Why're you in an asylum?"

"Sociopathic tendencies."

"Ah." Buck nodded. "I had mental problems."

"Had?" Diego asked without turning around from walking.

Buck jogged to catch up with him. "Well, still have. I'm married to a pineapple."

Diego turned around. "I see."

"An ugly pineapple." Buck elaborated unnecessarily.

"Why are we talking to him?" Manny asked.

Diego shrugged. "He's been here for a long time. You want to find Sid or not?"

"How'd you know Sid's missing?"

"Some kid said that he saw you guys going to the basement. Considering Sid's not screaming like a girl here, I'm gonna take a guess and say that he went somewhere before you got down here."

"What's wrong with that lift?" Eddie demanded.

"You press a number. There's a series of numbers you memorise before you reach a floor. Press the combination of numbers and you'll get where you originally wanted to go."

"Sounds complicated." Crash noted.

"Not really." Eddie contradicted.

"So how do we find Sid?" Manny asked. Diego shrugged.

"Just keep on going until the screaming and the smell hit you."

Buck perked up. "Oh, that kid? He was dragged to the rubble over there from some construction site."

"Wait. You mean that construction-?" Manny asked.

Diego nodded. "Let's go."

"How do we get there?"

"We go through the cemetery and then reach the rubble. But there's a gigantic hound somewhere here."

"Experiment, most likely." Diego replied to the unasked questions as the others turned to him.

"Let's go then!" Buck trooped off.

* * *

Sid screamed as the hound shoved him on his back. The puppies were yapping as they followed him. "Help me! Someone! Anyone! Manny?! Ellie?! Diego?!"

The hound growled menacingly, and Sid shut up instantly.

They moved on, until they reached a dead corpse. Sid leaned to the side and immediately threw up. "Gross."

The puppies leaped onto the meat and started eating.

"No!" Sid shouted, but it was too late. The puppies backed away, showing the empty skeleton. The hound grinned in smug satisfaction - or as much as a dog could smile smugly. Dammit. "They're supposed to be vegetarians!"

* * *

"Where are we?" Eddie asked.

"Be careful." Buck warned. "There are lumps here that are unexpected. We're walking under the cemetery."

"I didn't know that there were underground tunnels under cemeteries." Diego frowned.

Buck shrugged. "Neither do I. But it appeared sometime before and is quite stable."

"How long has it been here?"

Buck frowned. "It's been recently made. I was asleep when they did it, and woke up to find them transporting some boxes across."

Diego perked up. "How recently?"

Buck shrugged. "About a few days? Few weeks?"

"Two weeks?"

"About." Buck nodded slowly. Manny shot an alarmed look to Diego, but the boy's face remained stoic.

"I see."

They made their way across the cemetery within half an hour and found themselves at the rubble from the collapsed construction site manhole tunnel. There was a hole up there, and Diego pointed to it. "He's there?"

"Yep." Buck nodded. "That's where the dogs always go."

"Dogs?" Manny asked cautiously.

Buck nodded. "They were released here when I was. There's always been a hound, but I rarely see it. It was what gave me this." he pointed at his eyepatch.

"A free eyepatch?" Eddie asked.

"Maybe he'll give us one!" Crash exclaimed.

Buck shot a look at Manny. "Welcome to my world."

He turned to Diego, who shrugged. "We're in an asylum for a reason." Buck seemed to accept this as an answer as he scrambled up to the top, closely followed by Diego and then the twins, and then Ellie and Manny. They quickly made their way over, where they heard a scream.

"What's that?" Buck frowned. "Never heard that kind of dog before."

Diego shrugged. "That's Sid for you."

They sprinted forward, Diego and Buck in the lead. They found Sid cornered by a gigantic dog. Sid was protected by three puppies, which seemed to stop the gigantic dog from attacking, but Buck wasn't taking any chances as he sprinted forward. Growling, Diego followed after him. Buck slammed into the gigantic dog, smashing the dog into the wall.

Diego used the puppies' momentarily confusion to grab Sid and drag him along. "C'mon, Weiver, we're getting out of here!"

"No!" Sid stopped abruptly. "Can we take the puppies?"

"No." Diego deadpanned.

"Why not?" Sid pouted.

"Because the puppies are the children of the dog that's trying to kill us and the asylum staff will kill them."

Sid frowned, but allowed himself to be pulled away. He waved goodbye at the puppies. "Bye bye! Take care!"

The others were already scrambling back up the hole, and Diego boosted Sid up. They made their way over, while Diego turned back to Buck. "Hurry up, Buck!" The boy turned around and sprinted towards him. Diego climbed up the rubble to the hole, offering Buck his hand. Buck grabbed it and Diego dragged him up, straining.

And not a moment too soon.

The dog snapped at where Buck's heels had been. Buck heaved a sigh of relief as he clambered up and nearly collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily. "At least that's done."**  
**


	10. Part III: Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age.

* * *

**AN: Final chapter is a little bit short, but the next chapter will be update soon, hopefulle...thanks to IceAge Mutant for reviewing!**

* * *

Chapter 3:  
Diego tried desperately to catch his breath. He wasn't unfit - far from it, actually, but Buck being taller than Diego, who was not very tall himself, was a struggle for the Sociopathic boy to try and pull over the stack of bones.

They turned to realise that the others were already sprinting through the cemetery. Diego sighed as he sprinted ahead of them, taking the lead back to the asylum. "Hurry up!" he called over his shoulder. Diego didn't slow as he saw the lift in front of them. He leaped over the skeletons and pressed the up button.

The lift dinged as it opened, bathing the room in white light. Sid was behind him, making it into the lift. Crash and Eddie were not too far behind, while Ellie and Manny were still behind. Diego started pressing the combination of numbers, eyes narrowing as his mind raced to provide him with the combinations, only for a yelp from Sid to alert him a second too late about the dog.

The hound tackled him, slamming him to the side. Diego let out a pained hiss, but quickly got up and ducked as the hound moved to bite him.

Buck let out a whoop as he slammed into the hound, using a bone nearby to smash into the hound's skull. Diego managed to get a good look at him - the hound was large for it's size - about as tall as Crash and Eddie, but twice more deadly. Oversized canines were bared, glowing red eyes dangerous in their intent to kill.

"Hurry up!" Buck called.

Diego growled. He turned to Crash. "Finish it!" Crash instantly started pressing buttons, teeth chattering in fear as he struggled to remember the numbers. Manny joined Diego outside, wrapping his arms around the hound's middle. He lifted the hound up. The hound opened it's jaws to bite Manny, but Diego shoved a bone in it. The hound, however, forced it's jaws closed, crushing the bone.

As he turned to bite, he was whacked on the head by Buck, who proceeded to stab the hound with his sharpened bone. Diego then whacked the dog soundly, knocking the hound out.

"Let's go!" Crash yelped.

Manny sprinted to the lift, forcing the doors to stay open. The doors were now trying to close.

"You coming?" Diego turned to Buck.

Buck looked down at the unconscious dog. "I don't think so, mate. I'll stay here."

Diego nodded. "Good luck."

"You too, mate."

Diego sprinted into the lift and shoved Manny in.

"Where's Buck?" Eddie asked.

"He decided to stay." Diego muttered.

The lift dinged as it reached the first floor. They quickly sprinted out, and made their way to the rec room. Diego stopped at the doorway, eyes narrowed as he realised there was now a camera near the lift.

_What's with that?_

* * *

Meanwhile, a man grinned as he watched the last three of the asylum patients disappear, screaming, in the horde of shrieking zombie-like humans. _If they could even be called that._

A short fat man scurried up to him. "Sir, they discovered the floor and the tunnel used."

The man leaned forward. "I see." His eyes landed on the man. "Anything else?"

"The sociopath is starting to suspect something."

The man smiled slowly. "Good. Good. Transfer them again."

"The three of them? Or the six of them."

"The six of them."

"Wouldn't it be dangerous if they are together?"

"No. I want to see what they do."

"Yes sir."

"Good."


	11. Part IV: Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age.

* * *

**AN: And here's the fourth part. After this short part, there's gonna be a fifth part which will hopefully explain everything about the asylum and who's behind it. **

**Thanks to IceAge Mutant for reviewing!**

* * *

Chapter 1:  
"If you're happy and you know it-" Sidney "Sid" Weiver sang. He and his other friends were currently in a van, transferring to another asylum. Ellie Middleton and her two twin brothers, Crash and Eddie Middleton, were currently sitting across them, looking terrified at the prospect of moving away from there they had stayed for years.

"Sid, if you don't shut up, I'm going to get Diego to kill you." Manfred "Manny" Peterson growled at his friend. Sid gulped and looked at the side. Diego Azorr was shuffling a deck of cards, playing with them. His green gold-flecked eyes narrowed at Sid.

Then he smiled.

Sid instantly stopped singing, leaning back. All had learnt that it was never good news when Diego smiled. Diego sat up. "We're here." On cue, the door opened, and the six were let out. They looked at the building. No title. Just 'Asylum'.

Diego grinned in a feral way. They walked to the door, where a tough looking man answered. "These are the new patients?"

"Yes." The man escorting them nodded.

"Good. Get in." he barked at the six. The twins and Ellie, not used to being shouted at and scared of the man, quickly walked in. Manny followed, out of concern for his friends and girlfriend. Diego, however, walked leisurely inside, ignoring the man's glare, as if he had all the time in the world.

After the tough-looking man finished speaking, he walked in. The six were sitting on the sofas scattered around. Diego was slouched on the one closest to the door.

"Get up." The man growled. "I'm in charge here. Get inside the recreation room. I'll tell you your rooms later tonight. Miss the dinner bell and you don't get food till breakfast. Earthquakes are quite common here, so there's always a whole tunnel system underneath each room. Stay in the rec room unless instructed otherwise."

"Where's the toilet?" Eddie asked, jumping up wildly.

"Go in the rec room and turn left. The first door there is the toilet."

"Got it." Eddie noted.

Once they were led into the rec room, Eddie and Crash disappeared behind the door. There was a group there already. The man called for attention. "This is Gutt, Shira, Gupta, Raz, Squint, and Flynn." He turned to the group. "Crew, the twins are Crash and Eddie. This is Manny, Ellie, Sid, and Diego."

The 'crew' looked at them carefully. The man turned and left. "Behave."

Gutt stalked forward. He peered at Manny closely - Manny refused to flinch. He held out a hand. "Name's Gutt, my friend."

"I know. And I'm not your friend."

"Too bad." Gutt shrugged. He looked at Diego. "And what do we have here?"

"Piss off." Diego spat. He had continued playing with his cards, staring up at Gutt with narrowed eyes. Gutt looked back, amused.

"He has spunk!"

The crew laughed.

Gutt paused suddenly in his laughter as he felt the tip of a sharp card against his throat. "How much force do you think it'll take for the card to slit your throat?" Diego murmured.

The clear leader of the crew turned around slowly. "You're good." he noted mildly before changing the subject. "Why were you sent here?"

"What's it to you?"

The twins reentered, but no one paid them any mind.

"I want to know what I'm dealing with."

"Then what makes you think I'll tell you?" Diego grinned predatorily. Suddenly, he frowned. Diego looked down at the ground. He swore he could feel…shaking? He looked up. Dust was starting to fall from the ceiling, and cracks were appearing on the wall.

"Diego?" Manny asked, recognising the face that had always signalled trouble. The sociopathic boy walked to the window, not too far from where Shira was. "What is it?"

Diego's eyes widened as the ground began to shake. "Earthquake!"

The building began collapsing. Around them, pieces of debris fell around them. There was a yell from inside, but none of them paid any mind. The crew instantly tried to get out, pulling open the bunker door, but Shira tripped as the floor cracked open, separating Shira and Diego from everyone else.

"Diego!" Ellie called out.

"Get out!" Diego snapped. Manny reluctantly pulled his girlfriend down under the door. Diego turned back to the window. They were only a few feet away from it. He dragged Shira along, ignoring her indignant shout, and ducking as another piece of debris fell in front of them. Diego continued to drag her out, before seemingly hugging her.

Shira's eyes widened, but it last for long as Diego tackled the window, sending them both outside. Diego groaned as he felt himself land on several shards. He stood up, ignoring Shira, who he left on the ground.

If he calculated correctly, the others must still be at the building or somewhere under them. The earthquake suddenly stopped, which Diego found strange, but he didn't allow himself time to ponder about it. He looked at the asylum.

It had all but collapsed, with the large 'Asylum' sign a few feet away from the rubble and debris. The debris was still moving, and Diego highly doubted that he should be going into the building while it was still settling, but if he stopped how, he wouldn't be able to get in. He looked around. No one was anywhere near them. The van was long gone already, and the driver sure as anything wasn't going to come back even if he had survived.

Growling, he walked forward. Shira growled as she got up and followed him. "Where're you going?"

Diego didn't deign to answer the question as he examined the rubble and pulled out his cards from his pocket. He shuffled them casually while trying to determine where was the best angle to get back into the building.

Shira frowned at the cards. Didn't he drop them when he was facing Gutt? But he had only taken out one card and the deck had been gone.

"Hey!" Shira called after him. "I asked you a question."

"One that seems quite obvious." Diego drawled. "I'm finding a way back in."

His eyes narrowed before he put the deck away and approached the ruined metal window frame. He gave it several experimental tugs. It was surprisingly strong, but Diego spotted an opening through the glass, and snuck in.

He turned back to Shira. "Coming or not?"

Shira crossed her arms. "Why should I follow you?"

"Because chances are more likely that your little 'crew' would be with them." And without another word, Diego snuck in through the opening. He ignored the glass on the ground, climbing in. It was pretty dark compared to the outside, but he knew that it was going to be dark soon. He continued on, carefully shifting debris away. The recreation room had been at the side, and the bunker not too far from the wall outside, which meant that he would find the door soon.

But…

He suddenly popped back up, startling Shira, who had been planning to go in after him.

"Those bunkers. Is there a way through that from the outside?"

Shira frowned. "I'm pretty sure that there was an entrance near the gates, but I couldn't find it."

"Lead the way."

Scowling, the grey-haired girl lead him over to the gate, which was still standing. Diego looked around. He suddenly fell to the floor, hands moving about. Shira raised an eyebrow. "What're you doing?"

Diego didn't reply once more, before feeling a difference from the solid ground. He smirked, stood up and kicked there. The grass pebbles shifted. He got to his knees and started to push away all the pebbles, finding the beginning of a metal door.

"Found it."


	12. Part IV: Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age.

* * *

**AN: I just realised how short each third chapter of each part is. Big thanks to IceAge Mutant for reviewing - you're awesome!  
**

**And to anyone's who still reading, here's the next chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 2:  
The two of them opened the door together, and Diego dropped a pebble. There was no ladder that they could see - it was too dark, and he wasn't going to risk anything. The pebble dropped after a few seconds, and Diego smirked before leaping down. "Let's go."

After hesitating for a moment, Shira quickly followed, not willing to be left alone in this barren landscape. Both of them landed, and Diego felt around, finding a door. He opened it, revealing a shelf with some equipment. Diego took a torch, handing Shira another one. They grabbed the spare batteries, rations, water packs and continued on.

"Manny?!" Diego called out.

"Gutt?!" Shira mimicked the call.

They wandered on for some time, continuously calling out as they stumbled sometimes and fell. Diego kept his flashlight on the road ahead of him, although he knew it wasn't necessary - after all, he had a photographic memory. He just needed to draw the path in his head. Eventually, they heard a thump, and Diego immediately turned. "Who is it?!"

"Diego?" A voice asked.

"Manny?" Diego flashed the torchlight at him. It was Manny. He looked surprisingly okay, but he looked at Diego and Shira with surprise.

"What happened to both of you?"

"We're okay." Diego nodded. "What happened to the others?"

"Something from above crashed down and we were separated." Manny said glumly. "I was going to go through that tunnel there - the man said that they were all connected, right? That would mean that we'd run into them sooner or later."

"Yes, but I'd rather it sooner than later." Diego said. He looked around and picked up a piece of brick. He shone the torch at the wall and wrote something.

Manny squinted at it.

_Go forward if you read this message._

Diego then lead the way forward, not seeming to be ruffled by this event. Manny had to admire his nerves. Manny himself was slightly unnerved by the sudden earthquake, but Diego didn't seem to fear anything. Guess that was an advantage of being a sociopath.

"Why'd you come back?" He asked Diego.

"Hm?" Diego asked, not paying attention.

"Why'd you come back? You'd have better luck going out."

"No." Diego objected. "I would be alone with her and we're in the middle of nowhere. Strength in numbers. Only logical solution. Besides, there was bound to rations in a bunker. The key was finding it and we would be good here for a few days."

"Oh." Manny said. He turned to Shira, who looked uncomfortable with being here. He ignored her, though, and went back to walking next to Diego.

* * *

Ellie looked around, having protected her brothers from getting hurt. They were alone, having been separated from the group when something had collapsed on them. She anxiously checked her brothers over.

"You guys okay?"

"We're good." Crash and Eddie chorused together.

"What about you, sis?" Crash asked.

"You hurt?" Eddie asked.

"I'm good." Ellie stood up. There was barely enough space for her to stand up straight. "C'mon."

"Where're we going?" Eddie asked.

"We're trapped." Crash lamented.

"No, we're not." Ellie objected, pointing to the side. There was a tunnel there. "They're all connected, right? We're bound to run into them."

"But," Eddie and Crash shrunk behind their sister. "It's dark."

Ellie was quite scared herself, but she had to be strong or they were never gonna find the others. "Don't worry. Nothing's gonna hurt you while I'm here."

"Ok." Eddie whimpered.

"Crash, I need you to memorise what you can. Eddie, you too. If we have to turn back, it'll be on our terms."

"Ok." Crash nodded. The twins seemed less scared now that they had a plan.

"Now let's go."

* * *

Sid gulped nervously. Being trapped with Gutt and his 'crew' wasn't exactly reassuring. Ellie and the twins had disappeared one way, and Manny the other. And he didn't even know what happened to Diego or that scary girl.

"Now, let's see here. Fresh meat." Gutt grinned maliciously.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Sid backed away.

"You're taking up precious oxygen and space. Give me one reason I should allow you to live."

"Uh…because my friends will get us out of here and help us find your friend?"

"Shira?" Gutt scoffed. "Why would I care about her?"

"A lot, considering we just found you." They jumped and turned around to face a bright light. None of the trio was looking very amused.

* * *

Ellie looked around. Crash and Eddie were walking beside her, clearly memorising everything. Ellie looked down as her foot prodded something, and she gasped. Her eyes had long adjusted to the darkness, and she was stunned to see the dead corpse of the man who had led them in.

"Ellie? What is it?"

No use freaking them out now. "Nothing. Nothing. Let's move on. Careful of here. There's some debris here."

* * *

"Were we interrupting something?" Diego frowned.

"Nothing." Gutt grinned. "Shira! How nice to have you again!"

Gutt approached her, but she backed away uncertainly. She looked at the other two. Diego was mouthing something at her. Shira's brow furrowed, but she soon recognised what he was saying.

_Turn off flashlight when I say so._

She nodded discreetly, and Diego moved closer away, all attention now paid on Shira. As soon as Diego was close enough, he shouted "Now!" Shira flicked off her flashlight and backed away. She heard a yelp, before something crashed into her. She nearly fell, but regained her balance and was soon being dragged along by a large hand that she guessed was Manny's.

It wasn't until five minutes later that they turned on their flashlights, and Shira realised that Diego was pulling Manny and Sid along, who was, in turn, pulling her along. "We have to hurry." Diego frowned. "We've got to get to Ellie and the twins first."

* * *

Ellie looked around. She walked forward into a flashlight. "Manny?"

"No, sorry!" Gutt grinned. "Hello, sunshine!"


	13. Part IV: Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age.

* * *

Chapter 3:  
"C'mon." Diego urged them onwards. "We're not too far from where we found Gutt and Sid. We should be somewhere near where Ellie and the twins left off." Manny growled in frustration.

They had been wandering for more than twenty minutes now.

"Ellie?!" Manny called, not expecting any answer and throwing all caution to the wind.

"Manny?!" Unexpectedly, his call was answered. Manny immediately shoved ahead forward, ignoring Diego's protest as he looked around. Sid was right behind him, with Shira frowning behind them.

"Manny, stop!" Diego tried to get in front of Manny, but Manny slammed Diego to the side before running more. Diego groaned as he got up and turned around. His eyes widened. An electrical box. He crept forward. If this was a trap, then he didn't want to get caught. As he predicted, the moment that Manny stepped into a certain area, lights went up, and it was shown that the twins and Ellie were caught.

Manny charged forward, immediately facing Flynn. Shira ran over to the side, distracting Squint and Raz. She dodged both of them throwing something at her, and she got a piece of sharp debris. She started sawing at the ropes keeping Ellie in, having a feeling that having Ellie would be more helpful than having the twins.

She temporarily wondered where they got the rope, and then decided they must've got it in the supply drawer which she and Diego had raided before reaching there. Ellie broke free, and then slammed Squint into the wall, practically crushing him. Raz tried to tackle her, but Shira tripped her and she went flying. Sid was screaming as he dodged strikes, and passed where the twins were tied up, amazingly allowing the sharp debris to pass him and slice the ropes.

Manny was currently handling the bulk of the fighting, and he briefly wondered where Diego was, until he realised that Gutt was missing.

Diego ran forward, avoiding some debris. Gutt scowled, following him, having been edged on vigorously. Diego's eyes caught sight of the electric box, and he grinned, before heading over to it. The door was already open, and he pulled out the wires he had cut. Sparks were bouncing off of it. Gutt ran straight into them, and he screamed as electric coursed through his body.

Eventually, Diego pulled Gutt out when the sparks died and ran out of power. He was probably unconscious. He dragged Gutt back to the room, where everyone was already tied up. Manny looked at Gutt. "Is he dead?"

Diego shrugged. "I don't know. Could be dead for all I care. I just took him out when the sparks finally disappeared."

Manny sighed. "C'mon, let's get them back."

"Do we have to?" Diego eyed the crew disdainfully. Shira shifted, finally understanding sociopathic. Gutt was more psychopathic, but Diego was just as deadly. Manny sighed at the boy.

"Yes. We can't leave them here to die."

"Yes, we can."

"No." Manny frowned.

"Fine." Diego straightened. "But you're carrying them." With that, he walked out. Manny groaned, but started to lift them up. They wandered around, stopping a couple of times. By the time they reached the bunker, they were sweating from the heat, and the crew was awake and shouting angrily through their gags.

Diego climbed out of the bunker, looking down in amusement, before a shadow loomed over him and he froze. He looked up. Manny climbed out. "Why so quiet, Diego?"

He turned to the top. Everyone got out, with the others staying quiet as soon as they saw the man. "Who's he?" Sid asked.

"Principal." Diego murmured.

The man had pale skin and slicked back hair. His eyes were gleaming behind some spectacles that Manny believed were just for show. He was wearing a suit and a long dark coat over it. He grinned unpleasantly. "Diego Azorr. Can't keep out of trouble anywhere, can you?"

Diego didn't say a word.

Manny was honestly petrified now - after all, Diego was never speechless. And he certainly never looked as petrified of a person as he had now.

"Cat got your tongue?" The man chuckled - a deep unpleasant smile, much like his laugh. "Well, considering our…ah…circumstances, I am here to take you back to Half-Peak Asylum for the Mentally Disturbed."

"Why now?" Diego's voice was harsh.

"Why, Diego, didn't you know?" The man Diego called 'Principal' laughed. "We're free. The other three are dead. We have plenty of space for you lot."

Manny could only stare in horror as the Vulture brothers led them away. Diego remained motionless and silent the whole time. _We're pawns in someone's game._ Manny remembered Diego saying. _We just need to find out what game it is._ What. Not _who_. What. And this is why. Because Diego knew who was behind this the whole time.

And now? Manny didn't know what to think anymore.


	14. Part V: Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age.

* * *

**AN: This is probably the longest chapter of this part. Note, this part is entirely AU, nothing to do with the series (considering Ice Age 5 hasn't come out yet). After this three parts, there's gonna be an epilogue. Hope you enjoy!**

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Chapter 1:  
Manfred "Manny" Peterson looked around the room. It was like going back home - albeit a haunted creepy home once more. Diego Azorr was quiet and shuffling cards, his eyes distant. The crew were looking nervously around, much like Ellie, the twins and Sid.

"Where's this place?" Shira Ramirez asked.

"Half-Peak Asylum for the Mentally Disturbed." Diego said in a monotone. Suddenly, the door slammed open and Buck appeared, shoved inside. He fought furiously, but the door was slammed shut again. "Hi Buck."

"Diego! Fat guy! Twins!"

"Should we be offended he only remembered Diego's name?" Ellie Middleton whispered to Manny. Manny shrugged.

"He's crazy, remember?" He whispered back to her. "For heaven's sake, he married a _pineapple_."

Ellie shrugged. "Fair enough."

"What're you doing here?" Manny turned to Buck, also known as Buckminster, or Buh.

Buck shrugged. "I'm there, minding my own business, when the door suddenly opens and some guy comes out, all dressed in black and white-like, and drags me into a van, bringing me here."

"I see." Manny turned to Diego. "You owe us some answers. You've been here the longest. We don't even know what happened to Soto to the other three."

Diego didn't even argue. "I don't know what happened to the three." He leaned back. "It started a long time ago - God, about…" the seventeen-year-old leaned back. "Nearly four to five years ago."

"What happened?" Ellie asked.

Diego closed his eyes. "Back then, Half-Peak was a boarding school. It ran on private donations, but the Principal did something and it started crumbling down, no more donations. One day, all 837 students were sent into the assembly hall. Suddenly, the Principal's voice comes through the loudspeakers."

_"What'd you think we're here for?" Mike asked Diego. Diego shrugged. _

_"Dunno. Hope they make it fast, though."_

"Hello students!" _The Principal's voice came over the loudspeaker._ "Due to some unfortunate circumstances, only fifty of you can remain. Trapdoors will appear near you. Only one student can make it through. They will close as soon as a student is inside. Those who don't make it…"

_"They're joking, right?" Mike turned to Diego. _

_Diego's eyes widened. "I dunno, but the trapdoors are already opening." Mike turned to see he was right. Trapdoors were already beginning to open, and students were shoving each other out of the way to jump down into the trapdoors. Diego saw Soto, one of the sports Captains, already making his way into one._

_"You gonna go?" _

_Diego shrugged. "Better than dying of suspense here." He sprinted through the crowd, shoving through. His eye already spotted a trapdoor, and he headed for it. A student disappeared down it, but he kept his eye on it, fighting to stay right next to it. They opened and close sporadically, which meant…_

"And now, to make it more exciting, guns will be used, gentlemen!"

_Guns dropped to the ground, and Diego's eyes widened. The trapdoor opened, as predicted, and Diego didn't hesitate as he slid to it. There was a gunshot, and Diego felt blood gush out of his uniform. He turned, seeing Mike holding the gun with trembling hands right next to him. Hands tried to grab him, but he bit anyone that came close. The trapdoor shut with a sickening crunch as several arms were incapacitated. _

_Diego looked around, pressing a hand to his wound. Some medics were tending to the other patients who were injured. A medic tended to Diego's wound, but he was too stunned by what had just happened. _

"Oh god." Ellie whispered.

"You were shot?" Manny asked, half in disbelief.

Diego raised his shirt, displaying a puckered bullet wound. "Straight through. By my ex-best friend." He frowned. "After that, things became harder. We were tested every few months. We were put in a maze of some sort with different conditions, and we had to reach the door. If you were the last one to reach the door, the door would be locked, and experiments would be put on you."

"How'd you know?" Shira frowned.

Diego turned haunted eyes on her.

_This was one of the few tests that Diego's skills weren't going to help him. He knew it. He sprinted to the door. He heaved a sigh of relief, and began trying the doorknob. His eyes widened as he realised that it wouldn't budge. He threw his strength against it, but it wouldn't budge. Something, somethings, approached him from behind. He turned, eyes wide with horror at the red-bloodshot eyes. _

_To his astonishment, he realised that they were wearing uniforms. School uniforms…they were…he didn't get the opportunity to think even more as the door behind him swung open. Someone dragged him out, before closing the door. _

_He turned to see the Principal. "Hello Diego." He purred. _

_"What, what happened? Did I?" _

_"You did." Principal grinned. "However, I seem to have grown rather fond of you, and your parents weren't that cruel to me. I threw away the life of the Robinson boy, instead." He leaned in closer. "You're lucky…however…what you saw - you tell anyone, and you'll be thrown in the Room." _

_Diego nodded numbly. _

_"Now come. Your friends are waiting for you." _

"So that's what happened to Soto?" Manny asked. "You sent him to them?"

"They were in the basement." Diego noted. "I found out how to use the lift, and used it against him."

"The Principal let you free?" Ellie asked.

Diego nodded. "Principal always seemed fond of me. I never thought about it." He leaned back. Manny noted that he used the word 'Principal' as a name, rather than a title.

"Then how were you diagnosed?" Sid frowned.

"He gave us diagnoses and symptoms that we were to follow when inspectors came. Slowly, we turned into what he diagnosed us into."

"Sociopathic." Manny nodded. Diego nodded. "Photographic memory?"

"Was natural." Diego noted. "My mother had it."

"What happened to them?"

Diego shrugged. "I don't know. One day, he gives us a newspaper to show that the school closed down and will be used as an asylum, and that all the boys died mysteriously in a fire."

"We have to get out of here."

"You can't." Diego sighed. "Not with Principal controlling everything personally. I've tried. I've failed. I was sent to the Room."

"What _is_ the room?"

"Mirrors. Mirrors all over. It can drive a person crazy just by staying there for more than a few hours."

"Were you sent there?"

"Several times."

"But they're just mirrors."

Diego looked at Gutt with a haunted look. "Have you ever looked at yourself in a mirror? You think you look fine, and then you start realising the defects within you. The longer you look in the mirror, the more you hate what you see in there. And none of us are perfect."

* * *

Diego woke up. He was a light sleeper, a habit acquired over the years. He turned, suspicious, before a hand clamped over his mouth and a needle was pressed into his arm. "I'm sorry, Diego, but I can't have to trying to help them to escape. I've spent too long on this."

Diego let out a muffled scream, eyes wide with fear. Slowly, the drug took effect and Diego collapsed in the Principal's arms. Principal looked at Diego, stroking a thumb over his cheek. "If you had just stayed good, none of this would have happened."

Principal carried Diego out of the room, the door closing behind him.

* * *

Manny woke the next day, having a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Sure enough, when everyone gathered in the room, there was one blaring exception. Manny looked around. "Where's Diego?"

"He was here yesterday." Buck pointed out.

"The man must've gotten him." Shira guessed. "After all, if anyone could get us out of here, it's Diego."

Manny scowled. "Then how do we get him back? We don't even know where he is."

"Wait." Sid turned to Manny. "Remember? Diego said that he once drew a map of the place, and labelled it."

"We don't know where it is."

"But we know it's around here somewhere. After all, he had regular access to it to study at night, right?" Manny nodded slowly.

"And if he studied it regularly, the only time he could do so was at night. All the rooms are on lockdown during the night."

"But Diego could hack the lock." Sidney "Sid" Weiver suddenly groaned. "Remember? That was how he got out."

"Now what?" Manny frowned.

"We have to get him out of wherever he's being kept." Shira sighed. "But we don't know how to hack the lock."

"No," Ellie grinned. "But Crash and Eddie can. They just need time."

"Time is not a luxury we have." Buck pointed out.

"We don't have a choice." Ellie pointed out. "Just let them try."

Nodding, Crash and Eddie Middleton headed to the door, and began to fiddle with it.

* * *

Diego blinked blearily. What happened? Oh right. Principal came in and drugged him. He lifted himself up into a half-sitting position, and looked around. His eyes widened. He was in Principal's office. Principal was nowhere in sight. Diego himself was behind the man's desk. His eyes fell on a filing cabinet nearby, and he crawled to it.

He opened it, surprised to find it unlocked. There was only one folder - one thick folder. Diego picked it up. _Azorr, Diego Atlas. _

With trembling fingers, Diego looked around and opened the folder. His eyes scanned the information, drinking it all in like a man deprived of water. He then heard the familiar creak of several footsteps, and slid the folder back in. He closed the drawer and then turned around. He crawled back to position, and then tried lifting himself up, as if he had just woken up.

Principal entered with the Vulture brothers. "Ah. Diego. You're up."

"What'd you want?" Diego croaked.

Principal kneeled down to Diego's level, and ran a finger down Diego's cheek, like he had last night. Bright green eyes flecked with gold stared back at him. He chuckled. "No point in hiding it now - I'm nearly done, after all." Principal then straightened up. He put a finger to his eyes, and removed some contacts.

Diego's eyes widened as he stumbled back.

Bright green eyes, exactly like his, stared back at him.

* * *

The Vulture brothers barging in was a surprise. Crash and Eddie immediately stopped what they were doing. The brothers were not scheduled to arrive for another few hours.

Lone Gunslinger smirked, before he and his brother produced guns. "You." He nodded at Buck. "Come with us or you're all dead."

The group were frozen at the sight of guns, so Long Gunslinger immediately walked over and dragged Buck by the arm. Buck began to struggle, but the gun was pointed at his head. "Move, and you and your friends will be dead."

Buck exhaled shakily, but nodded as he followed Lone Gunslinger out of the room.

The other Vulture brother looked back on them. "I suggest you stop fiddling with the lock unless you want more of you to be taken." As they left, they could hear Lone Gunslinger cackling.

"Maybe a few days in the Room will teach you some manners."

* * *

The next day, Diego was returned to them. He had seemed tired and a bit in shock, which made Manny look closer. The sociopathic boy normally didn't show any emotions except for smug satisfaction or frustration, but the fact that he seemed even slightly stunned would make them worried.

"What happened, Diego?" Manny asked, frowning. The boy merely shook his head, eyes glinting dangerously.

"Where's Buck?"

"No idea."

Eddie piped up. "The Vulture Brothers took him yesterday."

"Do you know where?"

Ellie's brow furrowed. "I think they said something about a room."

"Dammit." Diego closed his eyes. "We need to get out of here, and soon."

"How?" Manny frowned. "The only one who knows their way around is you. We don't even _know_ what the Principal guy is doing." Diego had tensed at the mention of Principal, but shrugged it off.

"I'll draw you a map. Several rules you guys have to remember. One, _never_ take the lift unless I'm there with you. Two, don't wander around at night. Three, stay alert and always be with someone else wherever you go, whether it's your room or the bathroom."

The group nodded solemnly, understanding that this boy knew what he was talking about.

"Manny, you're coming with me. Tonight," he lowered his voice, "We're going to get Buck out. If I know Headmaster well, he's not gonna notice or care that Buck is free. Which will work in our favour." He leaned back for a moment. "After that, we have to get out of here."

Manny nodded. "Got it."

* * *

That night, Manny and Diego made their way out of the room, using Diego's knowledge of the electronics that kept them from opening their doors and leaving the room. Manny constantly was on edge, but Diego looked as if he did this every night. He was sure footed as he lead both of them from one corridor to the next, from one floor to the next.

Finally, they reached a room. Diego put a hand to the handle. "If he's not in here, I don't know where he is." he warned Manny.

Manny nodded.

Diego called out to the other side of the door. "Buck? You there?"

"D-D-D-Diego?" A stutter was heard as Buck whimpered.

Diego turned the handle, and tried pushing it. He frowned when he found himself unable to. He looked at the electronic switch on the other side, and frowned. He carefully took off his hand from the handle. He fiddled with it for several moments, Manny becoming more and more nervous by the second.

"_Hurry up_!"

"I'm trying." Diego snapped.

Manny lost it. "Let me." he turned to the door, and slammed all his weight on it. As he had expected, the door opened. Manny looked it. He was expecting to find something terrible to do with mirrors - but it wasn't. It was just a room, with mirrors on every available surface, including the floor. Diego drifted in.

"Buck?"

Manny almost missed the huddle figure in the corner of the room. His normally exuberant friend was looking quite down at the moment. Diego didn't hesitate in helping Buck up. "Hurry up. We need to get out of here."

Buck got up - too slowly for Manny's taste. Manny grabbed onto Buck, and lifted him up, carrying him away. Buck gripped tightly onto Manny as Diego lead the way back. Manny didn't relax until he saw the door leading to the room that linked all of their rooms together. Diego led them through, closing the door securely once they were inside.

Diego knocked gently on Manny's door - Sid popped his head up, looking relieved as Manny joined him inside.

After, Diego led the still trembling Buck to his room, and got Buck on the other twin bed. Diego went to his after closing the door, and closed his eyes.

He didn't get any sleep that night.**  
**


	15. Part V: Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age.

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**AN: Hope someone's still reading this...enjoy!**

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Chapter 2:  
Diego woke up early the next morning, being the only one awake. He looked around. Sunlight was streaming in through the window, but he had a bad feeling. He softly walked to the door and tested the door. It was unlocked, which meant that it well after seven. He stepped out of the room, and came face to face with Principal. He held his breath.

Principal was pouring a cup of tea for himself. He poured another cup and offered it to Diego, who took it, trying not to tremble. After the truth that he had gotten the day before, he didn't know what Principal wanted to do. He wasn't under any delusions as to what Principal could and would do.

"Good morning, Diego. Did you sleep well?"

Diego nodded mutely.

"Good." Principal stirred his tea. "Am I right in thinking that you are still in shock?"

Diego nodded again. He had no idea what Principal was up to, and that made him more nervous.

Principal smiled. It wasn't a pleasant smile. "Speak up, Diego. You have a mouth."

Diego took a sip of the tea. It was too sweet…it used to be the way he liked it, but now he liked it bitter. "Yes." he finally said. The sweetness was making his teeth ache.

Principal nodded. "Well, I hope you will get used to the news." With that, he stood up, still holding the tea. "And you can tell your friends that they have no need to eavesdrop. I would speak to you whether or not they were there."

He turned and left, leaving Diego staring after Principal for a long time.

In that time, the others slowly emerged from their room. It was obvious that what Principal had said was true, and they were eavesdropping. Diego remained still in his position, tea still in his hands.

"Diego?" Shira tried. She was rewarded a few seconds later, when Diego turned to her. "What's he talking about?"

"Nothing." Diego's tone made it clear that he was not going to discuss it.

"What do we do now?" Buck, who seemed to have reverted to his normal self, asked.

Diego shrugged, and then turned back to the door, finishing his tea.

* * *

The whole day went by nearly peacefully. But then, at around nine at night, there was a crashing sound outside, and something akin to a groan outside. But it didn't seem to come from any of the staff. Everyone was still in the common room, looking around in confusion. It was Diego who first realised what it was and where he had heard the sound before.

He sprinted to the door and closed it, locking it. He looked around, panic evident in his eyes.

"Diego, what is it?"

"It's the experiments." Diego whispered, almost as if to himself. He had gone pale. "They're free."

"What?!" Panic emerged from the room.

"_Shut up_!" Diego roared to them. They stopped. "They depend on their senses a lot. Shut up and they won't be as bothered." he turned around. "We have to get out of here."

Diego moved quickly to his room, coming back out just as quickly. He was holding a map of some sort. "Manny, take everyone else down this route. It's least used and easier to get a group this big away. Shira, Buck, you two come with me. We're distracting the experiments from the main path. Everyone, do _not_ let them bite you. If you get bitten, you _have_ to kill them unless you want to die."

The two nodded, determined expression on their faces.

"Go." Diego ordered Manny. Manny turned and sprinted back to Diego's room. From what the map said, there was a route there that led back to the outside near the offices. Diego, Buck and Shira turned back to the door, grabbing whatever they could find, mainly knives.

Diego turned to the three once Manny's door was closed.

"Once we get out of here, we'll probably encounter some experiments. Do not let them bite you." Diego looked around, and then ran back into a room, emerging with some towels. "Wrap these around any skin you show. Both did so, while Diego got more from his room. They probably looked ridiculous, but it was better than getting hurt. "Ready?"

The two took a deep breath and nodded. Diego waited by the door, opening it a crack. Not all of the experiments were at this way. They had stopped, looking into another room, walking in. Diego recognised it - it was the kitchen. He nodded at the two, and then immediately opened the door.

The trio sprinted out without looking back. The experiments turned the second the trio ran past them. Diego led the way, slicing the neck or breaking the hands of any experiment that approached. After such a long time of malnutrition, the experiments were easy to decapitate, though they weren't easy to kill. And they came in hordes.

* * *

Manny led the way, squinting in the dark as he led them ahead. He climbed up the ladder that they were in. However, once he was out, he nearly screamed. Sid did, though, and it echoed everywhere before Manny slapped him in the head. Principal was sitting there, legs crossed as if without a care in the world. "What the hell are you doing here?" Diego may be scared of the Principal, but Manny wasn't.

Principal laughed. "Are you trying to escape?"

"No duh." Manny hissed. "Especially after you released your experiments."

Principal looked surprised. "Oh, I didn't release them. They got free themselves. Turns out that they do have half a brain after all."

"Then why are you still here?"

"Because I have spent years trying to keep this a secret, and I will not let it be ruined by a couple of patients who can't keep still." Principal responded. A smile came to his face. His unpleasant smile.

Manny stared at him for a long moment, handing Ellie the map. He paused for a few seconds. Both of Principal's hands were visible. With that, Manny tackled Principal. Manny believed it was shock rather than strength that allowed him to take Principal down. He shouted at Ellie to lead them on, which she did when Gutt dragged her away.

For a few minutes, Manny and the Principal wrestled on the floor, before Principal proved himself superior and took out a glinting knife, shoving Manny into the wall and leaving him disoriented.

However, right as Manny closed his eyes and expected the worst, he merely heard a hacking noise. He opened his eyes hesitantly. Diego was stood over him, covered in blood. A knife was held in his right hand. Principal's dying body was left on the ground, eyes wide with fear.

And in that moment, Manny found himself truly frightened of this boy, this sociopathic boy who would kill without looking back.

Diego looked at him as if Manny was going to be his next target, before offering a blood-soaked hand. Manny accepted it, standing up. Diego handed Principal's knife to him. "Follow me. And quickly."

Manny followed Diego, where he soon found Shira and Buck, huddled in a corner of a bathroom. Both of their faces brightened when they saw Diego, but he quickly turned and left. The trio followed him, where he led them with confidence and decapitated any experiments that happened to come by.

* * *

Ellie looked around nervously. The fact that they were currently wandering around in the dark with only a dim light from above providing light made her very nervous, especially since they were unarmed. Gutt took the lead soon enough, and led them through with what Ellie suspected was fake confidence, but was reassured nonetheless.

After they reached the end of a corridor and turned the corner, the group froze when they found the two Vulture brothers looked down on them. Guns were in their hands.

Ellie looked around at the other nervous faces.

Lone Gunslinger fired a shot. Ellie had to admire Gutt now. Gutt immediately threw the map over to her, moving sideways and tackling down Lone Gunslinger. As soon as the other Vulture brother turned to shoot him, Gutt held up Lone Gunslinger's body. The other Vulture brother ended up shooting that before Lone Gunslinger could get out of the grip that Gutt was holding him in.

And then Sid sprinted forward and wrenched the gun out of Lone Gunslinger's hands, tossing it to Ellie, who fumbled with it, before closing her eyes and firing it at the other Vulture brother, who slumped over, dead.

Ellie was shaking now, the map on the floor bloodstained. Sid picked up the map with shaking fingers, while Raz quickly led Ellie onwards. Gutt followed close behind, holding the other Vulture brother's gun.

It was only after a few minutes that Ellie realised that even though she was shaking, her hands which were still holding the gun wasn't.

* * *

Diego stopped dead when four experiments, four very familiar experiments, came forward. His hand tightened around his knife, his mouth contorted into a snarl. He lunged forward at Soto, who growled and tried to bite him. Diego turned to the side, stabbing Soto in the neck. The skin split, but was not entirely decapitated.

Dammit.

Soto was still a recently new addition to the experiments, along with the other three, which meant that they would be harder to kill.

Manny quickly joined it, striking Lenny, the largest of the four. He wrestled with Lenny for a while, avoiding Lenny's teeth, before slamming him into the wall and stabbing the knife into Lenny's neck a few times. This shocked Lenny enough that the big boy immediately stopped in surprise. Manny took this chance to snap Lenny's neck, hearing a satisfying crunch.

Buck had taken on the hyperactive Zeke, who still constantly moved. Buck caught up with him as Zeke tried to lunge forward. Buck sidestepped and quickly stabbed his knife through Zeke's neck, sliding it to the right and out. But Zeke wasn't done yet, and as he fell to the ground, grabbed onto Buck's foot, opening his mouth. But, just in time, Manny appeared, smashing Zeke's mouth close right before Zeke came close enough to touch Buck's shoes.

Buck heaved a sigh of relief. "Thanks, mate."

"Anytime."

Shira was dealing with Oscar, who was currently dancing around her, eyes glittering with menace. Shira knew that compared to the boys, her strength was inferior, and so first landed a punch on Oscar, who's face snapped in the direction. Shira stabbed her knife forward, sliding it to the side. Oscar came up, though and grabbed onto her arm.

The previously anorexic girl hissed as she tried to wrench her arm free, before twisting her arm, twisting Oscar's as well to a further extent before smashing him into the wall and finished cutting his head off.

Diego was struggling more with Soto, who had more experience in fighting, and was definitely the stronger and more powerful of the lot. Diego took a second to duck to the side, before stabbing Soto in the eye. It did nothing but enrage him more. Stepping back, Diego slid inbetween Soto's legs to stab the other eye from behind.

He stopped for a second to admire it, before grabbing Soto's head and smashing it into the wall repeatedly, ignoring the dark liquid trickling down the towel. He turned to the others, who were watching him in amazement. He didn't take long to ponder it, before his eyes widened.

The floor was shaking. It had been shaking so imperceptibly that they had hardly noticed it, but now that it was silent and nothing to hold their attention, it was obvious that an earthquake was happening.

"Hurry up!" Diego took off running. "We need to get out of here before this place collapses!"**  
**


	16. Part V: Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age.

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**AN: Here's the last chapter! After this, there's an epilogue...and then done! Big thanks to IceAge Mutant for reviewing!**

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Chapter 3:  
Ellie's group had figured out the same thing, and was now running desperately to the exit. Debris and dust started falling around them, and Raz yelped as Ellie narrowly pulled her out of a falling piece of debris. She kept a close eye on her brothers, but they didn't seem interested in running off, instead running right behind Gutt, who held the map now.

Sid's screaming ensured that Sid was behind them, but Ellie turned back momentarily. She did a quick head count despite the situation. Good. They were all still there. As if on cue, Gutt called out. "There!"

An exit was evident, lifting Ellie's hopes, but it was crushed when more falling debris covered the entrance. Gutt took a sharp u-turn, where he spotted a window. He lead the others there, where he was quick to smash the window, climbing up delicately.

Ellie quickly allowed her brothers and Sid to climb through, surprisingly being helped by Gutt, who held the map between his teeth. Squint and Gupta was next, followed by Dobson and then Raz.

Suddenly, from above her, Ellie heard a rumble.

She looked up, only to be shoved unceremoniously forward. She turned back, eyes wide despite the cuts littering her arms. Flynn was now trapped underneath a piece of debris. Ellie quickly ran forward, trying to tug Flynn free.

Flynn was one of the nicest of them - he did not deserve to die like this, so close to freedom.

But the man shook his head, shaking his hand free. "Ellie, get out. I won't be able to get out."

"No." Ellie protested stubbornly, still trying to tug Flynn out. But it was all in vain. There came another sound from above her, and she was dragged through the window by Raz, who had been watching this scene with something akin to tears in her eyes.

"NO!" Ellie screamed, ignoring the pain from being cut from shards of glass. The last thing she saw of Flynn was him waving at Ellie.

And then there was nothing.

* * *

Gutt had no idea how he had gotten in this situation. He inhaled and exhaled deeply. Flynn's death didn't mean much to him, considering he was a psychopath. He had even been tempted to leave them there. But that other boy, Diego, seemed to know what he was doing. And even though Diego wasn't exactly the tallest person around, Gutt had to admit that Diego scared him slightly.

After all, the boy was a sociopath. Gutt was a psychopath - he never faked any emotions. But Diego did, and he could do them perfectly (though he seemed to choose not to), which meant that he could stab Gutt in the back if he wanted to.

But if he didn't, then the large man, Manny, would. And he had superhuman strength, Gutt remembered from the files. And now? What were they to do. Raz and Ellie were crying silently, and he had no idea what to do.

"Where're Diego and the others?" Sid whispered.

"They'll be here soon, you sissy." Gutt snapped, though he had no idea if they had even survived the collapse of the building. "Get back!" The building was currently collapsing more on itself, if possible, and the slabs of cement were tumbling down the load of the building, heading their direction.

Gutt turned and sprinted away, making sure that everyone was behind him.

As soon as they got a safe distance away, Gutt tried to catch his breath. Even if the four had survived the first collapse, he was unsure as to whether they had survived the second one.

And so, he sat down, staring at the building.

* * *

Diego knew from the moment that the earthquake started that the building would collapse in on itself. He sprinted for the exit, his eye catching sight of the window. It was closer than the door, at least. Diego had originally been planning for them to escape through the main entrance, but now that the earthquake had started, he needed to get out through the window.

He jumped through it, quickly turning and helping Shira through. Buck was next, before Manny came up. To Diego's alarm, Manny didn't fit through the hole he had shattered. He met Manny's panicked gaze, and then clenched his fist, dropping his blade. He hastily wrapped a towel around his hand before telling Manny to stand back.

Manny moved back several steps.

Diego then punched the edges of the glass, using the knife in his other hand to cut any of the metal points as quickly as he could. Debris was starting to fall down in larger quantities, so he beckoned to Manny, who sprinted forward.

In that split second, Diego didn't think Manny was going to make it. The hole didn't seem big enough. Manny got halfway through. Without hesitating, Diego dropped his knife and the towel, tugging furiously at Manny's arms. Buck immediately helped, while Shira tried hacking at the metal and glass at the sides.

Diego's eyes widened as he saw the building start to collapse.

With a quick powerful tug that he would later credit as the adrenaline, he tugged Manny free. All four turned, ignoring the weapons that they had dropped, and sprinted forward, all of them following Diego.

Diego reached the end to the gate, and slammed his fist against it. So close.

He turned around and sprinted in the opposite direction. If he was not wrong, the back gate was - there!

He put on an extra burst of speed as he heard an ominous rumbling after them. He quickly ran through the gate, turning to pull Manny, who was limping, through. Buck and Shira threw themselves forward as the building finally collapsed.

Diego took a moment to catch his breath when the building finally stopped, and the dust cleared. He looked at the others - they were dirty, with dust and blood dirtying their clothes. They had cuts all over them, but all of them were alive, and that was what mattered. He sank to the floor for a few seconds before standing up again.

"C'mon. We have to see if the others survived."

Mentioning the others had Manny up quickly, along with the other two.

They made their way to the front entrance, where, to Diego's relief, they spotted Gutt.

* * *

Gutt looked up at a call, heaving a sigh of relief. The four had lived. Manny sprinted forward. The moment Ellie caught sight of her boyfriend, she charged forward, shaking off Raz's grip and hugging Manny tightly.

Diego's eyes scanned the group as the other two hugged their friends. He turned to Gutt, one eyebrow raised, mouthing _Flynn?_

Gutt shook his head, nodding at the collapse. Diego returned the nod, and turned back to the others.

After a few minutes, Sid spoke up. "So what now?"

Everyone turned to Diego, who seemed to be the impromptu leader. His eyes narrowed. "We walk as far as we can and see if we can find a telephone. And then we call the police and explain what the hell happened here."

"What if they arrest us?"

Diego's eyes narrowed. "Then we disappear from their sight." He turned to the collapse. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm never coming back to this hell-hole ever again."

* * *

Manny smiled at his parents. After the police report, the police had helped locate Manny's parents. As it turned out, they didn't know he survived, and so had given up all hope of finding him. The second the police had reported that their son and his friends were, indeed, alive after having survived a traumatising experience, they had welcomed them all with open arms.

Gutt's crew had made it quite clear that they were only staying a while before leaving. Shira, however, seemed conflicted.

Diego didn't even go in the house.

As soon as they had reached the house, everyone had paraded in, glad. But Diego had stood outside. Manny had approached him and asked what was wrong.

_"What's wrong?" _

_Diego hesitated. "My parents are alive." Manny's eyes widened, but he was happy for his friend, until his friend uttered the next sentence. "At least, one of them." _

_"What do you mean?" Manny frowned. _

_"My mother, her husband and my half-siblings are alive." Diego's eyes looked up, imploring Manny to understand. "Principal was my father."_

_"What?" Manny demanded. That was impossible. _

_Diego shrugged. "I found the files. All the DNA records, everything." _

_"It could've been faked." Manny protested._

_Diego nodded. "I know. Which is why I need to find her and ask her for myself." _

_Manny frowned. "You're not even going to go in?" _

_Diego shook his head. "I don't know Manny. I've never had a family really before. I was sent to boarding school for a reason."_

_Manny put a hand on his friend's shoulder, knowing that it was useless to change his friend's mind. Diego was just as stubborn as he was, and that was saying something. "Well, just know, if you ever need a home, you can come here." _

_Diego smiled, the first genuine smile that Manny had ever seen his friend smile. "I know." _

_"What about Shira?" Manny had asked when Diego had turned. _

_Diego shrugged, sighing and running a hand through his hair. "Ask her to wait for me. If I don't come back in a year, tell her that I'm not coming back." _

_"And are you?" _

_Diego shook his head. "Unlikely." he hesitated. "Manny, the memories I have with the asylum? They aren't pleasant ones. And you have gotten yourselves entwined with them. If I'm satisfied with my family, I wouldn't want to ever see you again. Do you understand?"_

_Even though Manny felt sad and slightly offended, he could understand. Diego had been stuck in that hell hole for nearly five years. Under the taunting watch of the Principal, who Diego genuinely feared. "Well. So this is goodbye then?"_

_"Not necessarily." Diego shrugged. "Could be, but could also be a see you later." _

_"Well, I hope it's a see you later." Manny smiled, and then turned to head back to his house. _

_"Manny?" Manny turned. "Keep them safe. And thank you."_

It had been nearly a year since the conversation, and Manny knew as well as anyone that Shira was currently waiting for Diego to come back. But…Manny looked at the calendar. If Diego didn't return in two weeks or so, Shira would have to realise that he was never coming back.

It was strange, Manny mused, at the odd bond that both had shared. Both had barely said a word to each other, though they had spent some time together. But they already had a bond that seemed unbreakable. Well, at least on Shira's part.

Manny prayed that Diego would return.

But after such a long time? Manny had lost all hope.

And as two weeks came by and still no Diego appeared, Manny could only watch sadly Shira as she finally decided to leave with Gutt and his crew.


	17. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I do not own Ice Age.

* * *

**AN: And here's the last chapter! Hope it's not too much of a disappointment...enjoy! And big thanks to IceAge mutant and Guest for reviewing!**

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Epilogue:  
_Bright green eyes, much like his, stared back at him. Diego looked up, mouth wide open at Principal. Principal laughed. "You don't want to believe, it do you?" Diego didn't say a word in reply. Principal continued. "Do you know how sad I was when your mother decided to marry another man instead of me after this stupid school started failing?" _

_Diego opened his mouth, but not a sound came out. There was brief silence as Principal turned and closed the door. Now it was just the two of them in the room. "Why?" Diego finally whispered. _

_Principal sighed. "Your mother was such a heartbreaker. Pity I fell for it. Then I find out her son has been enrolled, no, not just hers, but my son as well in my boarding school. Couldn't you imagine the glee I felt?" _

_Diego shook his head, closing his mouth. This explain a lot of things. Why Principal let him go when he had clearly failed the test. Why Principal seemed to favour him so much. Why Principal did all he did. Diego didn't dare breathe now as the Principal came even closer. _

_"Do you know any idea?" When Diego didn't respond this time, Principal turned and walked away, before he suddenly turned. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA?!" he bellowed. Diego jumped, eyes wide. He had never seen Principal raise his voice as he did now. And it scared him._

_Principal turned, breathing heaving. He moved behind his desk and leaned on it. Then he withdrew something from a drawer. To Diego's dread, it was a needle. Diego backed away slowly, eyes wide, but Principal didn't budge. With surprising speed, Principal reached out to grasp Diego's wrist, tugging him close and then pushing the needle into his neck._

_And Diego couldn't remember any more._

* * *

Diego looked up. This was the place that the address in the folder he had looked at had led him to. After much stealing and begging, he had made it on a train here. It was nice in the countryside, not that Diego cared, with large fields of golden wheat, and the laughter of children in the air.

Not knowing what to do, the sociopathic boy walked up the path, into the gate, to the door, where he stood there, head tilted like a lost puppy. He looked down when he heard a laugh, and saw two children running up, one girl, one boy. Both shared his feature of tanned skin and blonde hair, but other than that, they were total strangers.

Both children stared at him for a long time. "Who are you, mister?" the boy asked.

Diego didn't reply.

After looking at one another, both of them ran indoors, shouting. Diego stared at the door, not saying anything. After all, what could you in this situation? A man came out, looking fierce and being dragged by the boy. "-and he won't say anything!" the boy finished.

"Who the hell are you?" The man asked, not at all intimidated.

Diego didn't reply.

"Look, here. Get the heck out of here and I might let you off without calling the police."

Diego didn't move.

"So that's how it's going to be?" The man rolled up his sleeves, and Diego tensed, eyes narrowed. He knew enough about fighting to defend himself against someone like him, but the man's bulk would be an advantage over his lithe frame.

At that moment, a voice called out. "Dear? What are you doing?"

"Don't worry about it, darling."

But the woman came out anyway, smiling. She looked just as Diego had remembered. The woman turned to Diego, and froze. The man noticed it, and tried to snap her out of it. But the lady just kept on staring at Diego, who stared back. The man stepped forward, ready to deal with the teenager who had his wife all frozen up like this, but she acted first.

She stepped forward, holding up a shaky hand. "Di?" she whispered.

Diego didn't move, nor did he reply.

A trembling hand reached his cheek, but he didn't move still. The woman gasped, tears appearing now. She pulled the boy to him. Diego tensed, unsure of how to act. He didn't move, but the woman didn't seem to mind, crying into his shoulder. "My boy. My dear boy. I thought you died in that fire."

The man was frozen in shock as well.

The woman pulled back.

"Mother." Diego's voice was cold.

The woman smiled sadly at that.

"You have a lot to explain for."

She nodded, beckoning to him. "Come in. Have dinner with us, and we'll talk it over a cup of tea when the children are in bed."

Diego turned around to see the open fields, before taking a deep breath. He wanted answers, and it was going to be handed to him on a silver platter. He couldn't argue with that. He stepped forward, and walked into the house.

Either he found the answers he wanted, or he would never find them at all.

* * *

Ellie sighed. She knew how Shira had been hoping Diego would be back like he had promised, in a year. But there was nothing, and Gutt was eager to leave to New York. She hugged Shira one last time, and handed her her luggage. "Good luck." she whispered.

Shira gave her a watery smile.

Meanwhile, Sid was talking to Manny, looking sadly at Shira. "Diego's not coming back, is he?"

Manny sighed, hesitating. "I don't think so, buddy."

"I just…" Sid trailed off. "I just thought…maybe after what we've been through…he might just, I dunno, stay."

"Well, you were wrong." Manny stated. "Diego's been at the asylum for longer than we have, and if not longer, then with a far worse time. There's no point in him returning to the memories of us."

Sid wiped his eyes, and then smiled at Manny. "Are we gonna stick together?"

"I don't know, Sid." Manny said. And it was the truth. After much discussion, Manny was deciding to go to university in another country. He looked at Ellie, who was still saying goodbye to Shira. And if he did, it would have to be without Ellie, who was gonna remain here with her twin brothers.

Manny joined Ellie as Gutt opened the door and stepped outside with the rest of his crew. "You know, I was wrong."

Ellie turned. "Hm?"

"I thought that Sid was the glue to our herd." Manny knew that he had Ellie's attention. "But maybe that glue was actually Diego."

Ellie didn't say anything, but Manny noted the sadness on her face.

They watched the door close.


End file.
